RI lifts anthrax ban on NSW meat

RI lifts anthrax ban on NSW meat

SYDNEY (Reuter): Indonesia had lifted its anthrax-related ban on imports of animals and animal products from the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), state Agriculture Minister Richard Amery said yesterday.

Amery said he had been informed of the decision by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).

"The temporary ban imposed on NSW products by Indonesian authorities had the potential to cause severe hardship for farmers in this state if it had continued for any length of time," Amery said in a statement.

The decision to lift the ban meant normal trading between NSW and Indonesia could resume immediately, he said.

The ban had been imposed in the wake of the major outbreak of anthrax in the state of Victoria, which had now been brought under control, he said.

The Victorian outbreak resulted in the death of about 200 cattle on 83 properties and required the vaccination of about 80,000 cattle on another 600 properties, Amery said.

The ban imposed on NSW was in response to a small number of anthrax cases in the 'anthrax belt' in the central west of NSW extending from the Queensland to Victoria borders, he said.

It was normal for NSW to experience about six anthrax cases a year, he said.

These posed no health risk and should not affect trade, he said.

A visit to NSW by Indonesian authorities two weeks ago was able to demonstrate that the few cases of anthrax posed no problems for public health, Amery said.

Anthrax is a bacterial disease which causes death in cattle and sheep but is rarely caught by humans and is not passed on through processed food products.