The latest biosecurity updates from Agriculture Victoria.
No images? Click here
Edition 2, July 2023
Victorian private veterinarians – your skills are needed
Private veterinarians with necessary skills, knowledge, and experience are essential in responding to an emergency animal disease outbreak.
Take it from Rowan Wilson, a private veterinarian who worked alongside Agriculture Victoria in the 2020 Avian Influenza outbreak response.
“It has struck me how complex and well organised it is,” Dr Wilson said at the time.
With the risk of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease entering Australia remaining high, we urgently need private veterinarians to step up and lend their support in the event of an outbreak.
To register your interest to help protect our state, please email ead.workforce@agriculture.vic.gov.au
Dr Rowan Wilson
Biosecurity Strategy for Victoria - Draft Released
Agriculture Victoria's draft Biosecurity Strategy is now open for feedback. The strategy lays out the key actions we all need to take to achieve a stronger and more resilient biosecurity system. It outlines how we can work together and where we can focus our efforts and resources to reduce biosecurity risks.
How can you have your say?
You can complete a survey and make a written submission until midnight, Wednesday 16 August 2023 via Engage Victoria. Your feedback will ensure the strategic goals are focused on the key issues for Victoria and help prioritise actions for implementation.
Home gardeners: plan now for your next harvest
Overgrown fruit trees with excess fruit causes all sorts of problems for home gardeners – the most destructive of which is the Queensland fruit fly (QFF).
If your fruit trees are too large and unmanageable, pruning will help. Not only will you be able to net your tree to protect it from QFF attack, but you will also have a more manageable harvest.
Online training: visiting farms safely
Have you heard of the phrase come clean, stay clean, go clean? These three simple steps can help you protect the agriculture sector.
Follow our 15-minute e-learning module to learn more about what to do to visit farms in a safe manner.
Are you a small-scale farmer, hobby farmer or new to farming?
Subscribe to our new Backyard Biosecurity newsletter series, each edition will focus on a different topic, with practical tips about how to implement good biosecurity practices.
Topics include managing the health and welfare of your animals, weeds, pest animals, biosecurity, fencing, being a good neighbour and much more. Agriculture Victoria has a range of information for small landholders that can help you keep your animals safe.
With increased risk of emergency animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) entering Australia, Agriculture Victoria's Backyard Biosecurity page is your go-to destination for everything related to keeping your beloved livestock safe and our farms thriving.
Whether you're a seasoned farmer or a hobbyist, Backyard Biosecurity has tips and tricks for Victorians with all types of properties and animals. There are plenty of small steps you can take to keep your animals free from disease.
Priority Pest Spotlight: Eastern Corn Snake
The eastern corn snake is not native to Australia and if given the opportunity could populate a wide range of landscapes within Victoria, impacting native species through predation and the introduction of new animal diseases.
Think you’ve seen one? Make an online report.
This newsletter is distributed by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
Were you forwarded this email? Why not subscribe today.