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People Movement
People can transfer animal diseases too!
Even if a disease cannot infect humans, people can still be a handy vehicle for the transfer of disease to your stock without even realising.
This includes professionals and suppliers visiting your property - such as vets, transporters, stock agents and contractors - as well as your guests, and, of course, anyone who lives on the property.
How can people movement affect your enterprise?
People can carry disease-causing organisms - clothes, shoes, hands and even nasal passages can harbour organisms.
Vehicles visiting your property - Tyres and the undercarriage of a vehicle can pick up dirt or manure which contains disease causing organisms.
Equipment used on your farm - equipment can carry disease to your livestock. This is even more likely if it is equipment used regularly on or near animals.
It's not just visitors - You and your family can also bring disease to your livestock.
DON'T FORGET! - People movement can be a significant contributor to disease spread People can introduce disease to your farm and your livestock even if the disease is one people can't catch.
Check: Who is visiting your property? How might they be bringing disease on to your property?
People movement - reduce the risk
Make sure you know about any people coming on to your property - and that the vehicles they travel in are cleaned and disinfected before coming in contact with your animals.
Don't forget to keep visitor records as a matter of course. If there is a disease outbreak, these records will help trace where disease originated from, and where it might have been passed on to - information that is vital to getting an outbreak under control.
You can download a handy visitor record template for use on your property.
People can carry disease-causing organisms
- Prevent unnecessary visitor contact with your livestock.
- Consider boots, shoes, work clothes and overalls - do they need to be cleaned or changed?
- Avoid wearing dirty workclothes or footwear off your farm - particularly if you are going near other livestock and vice-versa.
- Make sure you and your family minimise your contact with other people's stock.
- Follow farm biosecurity advice given to you by farmers on properties you visit.
- Keep an up-to-date visitor register - it is invaluable in the event of an outbreak.
- Wash hands after contact with any farm animal, including working dogs and pets.
Vehicles visiting your property
- As vehicles are hard to clean, park your vehicles away from places that are trafficked by animals, such as sheds, livestock thoroughfares and paddocks.
- Have a designated spot for all visitors to meet/enter your property.
Equipment used on your farm
- Check that equipment to be used with your stock is clean and disinfected.
It is important to regularly inspect stock for any sign of health issues.
If you spot unexpected or unusual signs of disease, abnormal behaviour or unexpected deaths in your animals, act immediately. Call your veterinarian, local government animal health authority or the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.
People movement and your livestock
People movement can be a significant contributor to disease spread, regardless of what industry is involved.
But each operation will have different management practices and farm biosecurity tools to suit their own farming practices and address the specific pests and diseases that may cause problems for their livestock
These pages will give you more information on farm biosecurity specific to your livestock industry.
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People Movement in your state/territory
People movement can be a significant contributor to disease spread in any climate and location. Different regions of Australia may have different approaches to farm biosecurity depending on state laws, climate, disease status and other factors.
These pages will give you more information on farm biosecurity specific to your state or territory.
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