Indonesia halts meat imports from Australia
Indonesia halts meat imports from Australia
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Agriculture has stopped
importing meat and live cattle from Australia's states of
Victoria and New South Wales.
The ministry's director general of animal husbandry, Erwin
Soetirto, said Thursday the ban, effective as of March 10, was
imposed because cattle in both states had been found to have
anthrax disease.
The ban also affects other cattle parts including skin, milk,
bone and wool.
Erwin said in his instruction that importers could resume
buying cattle and cattle products from both states 21 days after
the last case of cattle infected with anthrax there was reported.
The last case took place on March 13. If the disease breaks
out again, the ban will be automatically extended.
The incubation period of anthrax is three weeks.
Anthrax is an infectious disease of warm-blooded animals (as
cattle and sheep) caused by a spore-forming bacterium (Bacillus
anthracis), characterized by external ulcerating nodules or
lesions in the lungs.
Anthrax is transmissible to humans especially by the handling
of infected products.
According to the Encyclopedia Americana, animals suffering
from an extremely acute form of anthrax are either found dead or
die from overwhelming blood poisoning within 12 hours after the
first sign of disease.
The disease is not so rapidly progressive in humans as in
animals, but is nearly always fatal unless treated promptly and
effectively.
Erwin said a delegation from Australia had recently asked him
to drop the instruction since the disease only broke out in
limited parts of the states.
In Victoria alone, said the delegation, cases of cattle
infected with anthrax only occurred in 0.04 percent of the total
state area.
Erwin told the delegation that Indonesia had a rule which
imposed an isolation on a province once any cattle was infected
with anthrax.
"Indonesia has taken a softer stance against Australia than
countries like Thailand. It has banned the importation of cattle
and cattle products not only from both states but from throughout
Australia," said Erwin.
Kontan weekly said the disease, which first broke out on Jan.
26, has killed 190 head of cattle in both states.
Ministry of Agriculture figures show Indonesia's imports of
cattle and cattle products from Australia have increased over the
past six years. Imports increased to 76.4 million kilograms in
1995 and 101 million kilograms in 11 months of last year, from
2.7 million kilograms in 1991.
Erwin said 30 percent of Indonesia's imports of cattle and
cattle products from Australia originated from Victoria and New
South Wales.
Aside from Australia, Indonesia also imports cattle and cattle
products from New Zealand. (jsk)