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)