Industry Update – BJD National Framework implementationJuly 2016

Prepared by WA Industry BJD Advisory Committee Secretariat

Summary

The nationally agreed Bovine Johne’s Disease (BJD) Framework Document was released by Animal Health Australia (AHA) on behalf of industry and government in March 2016. The new framework shifts the management of bovine Johne’s disease from regulatory control to an industry-focused market assurance system, in keeping with the management of other endemic diseases. The focus will be on ‘on-farm’ biosecurity planning and regional biosecurity groups.

The key principles of the new strategyare to empower industry to manage their own biosecurity risks according to need, including the risk of BJD, and to “lower costs and lessen the regulatory burden associated with endemic production diseases”.

The new strategy is to be implemented on 1 July 2016. Some jurisdictions will need to undertake further work after this date to ensure all relevant legislative requirements are in place, but it has been agreed that national implementation of the new strategy will occur, as much as possible, on this date.

BJD will remain a reportable disease under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 and must be notified to Department of Food and Agriculture WA (DAFWA) as soon as reasonably practicable if known or suspected to be present.

Tools, Resources and Communications

Animal Health Australia has recently published information on the new BJDframework in the form of a media release announcing the implementation phase of the Framework Document.

A communications plan will be developed by AHA to support the state‐based implementation by building awareness of the new approach and highlighting the need for strong biosecurity planning on‐farm. The plan will also emphasise how producers can manage their own biosecurity risk status.

As part of the wider BJD review, on 24 May 2016 an evaluation of the Cattle Market Assurance Program (CattleMAP) was launched and the testing requirement to remain part of the program suspended until 1 November 2016.

As well as a review of the CattleMAP, an Animal Health Australia run Working Group is looking at other forms of market assurance in the form of the Risk Assurance Management Program (RAMP), which utilises similar disease risk scoresas the National Dairy BJDAssurance Score, and biosecurity checklists. Once these proposals have been finalised, wider industry consultations will be undertaken.

WA Update

The introduction of the new BJD Framework will have important implications for the management of BJD in WA.

  • Western Australia is a BJD Free Zone under the current National BJD Program; however the zonal system of BJD management is to be revoked with the adoption of the new national strategy. Zoning, including the Free Zone, will no longer be recognised.
  • The new Johne’s Disease (JD) management strategy will no longer differentiate between the strains of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis (Cattle and Sheep strains).
  • Ovine Johne’s Disease (OJD), the Sheep strain of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, is endemic in WA.
  • WA currently implements rigorous border and intra-state regulatory controls under the national BJD control program to manage the risk of BJD incursions into the state.
  • In the face of national deregulation, WA industry will need to decide on what level of border controls and intra-state regulatory controls(if any) should be implemented into the future.
  • WA industry, through the WA BJD Advisory Committee and the Industry Management Committeeof the cattle Industry Funding Scheme,has decided to adopt Interim Border Controls(which are similar to the existing controls) from 1 July 2016, when the new national framework will be implemented, until a decision can be made on long term regulatory measures to be implemented across the state.
  • The cattle Industry Funding Schemeis also undertaking a Cost Benefit Analysisto assist in this decision making process. A final decision of the level of future regulatory controls will be made after examination of the CBA, details of the tools and resources to be made available to industry are known, and consultation has taken place
  • Other jurisdictions may choose to implement some level of regulatory controls for BJD under the new national framework. Knowledge of these programs may further inform WA controls, in particular border controls for BJD.
  • A detailed communications package will be developed for WA industry once further details are available.

For further details contact the WA Industry BJD secretariat at or phone on (08) 9363 4127.

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