New Zealand urges extra travel precautions to prevent foot and mouth outbreak

Sheep completely ready to be shorn are pictured on the assets of sheep farmer Roger Barton in New Zealand’s Wairarapa location, November 14, 2014. REUTERS/Naomi Tajitsu

WELLINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) – New Zealand on Monday urged travellers returning from Indonesia to acquire more safety measures and in some cases to continue to be away from farms for at least a week to protect against a nearby foot and mouth outbreak that could devastate the very important livestock industry.

“New Zealand has never had an outbreak, and we want to do all we can to maintain it that way,” Key Minister Jacinda Ardern claimed at her weekly news convention.

Indonesia, including common tourist vacation spot Bali, have a short while ago had an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, raising the possibility that the virus could achieve New Zealand.

Foot and mouth sickness is a remarkably contagious animal ailment that affects cattle, sheep, goats, deer, llamas and pigs but does not pose a menace to humans.

Central lender modelling initiatives that a widespread foot and mouth outbreak in New Zealand would have an estimated direct financial affect of all around NZ$10 billion ($6.23 billion) just after two yrs.

Australia has also stepped up its safety measures towards the illness. study far more

Ardern stated Biosecurity New Zealand, the country’s agency to hold pests and illnesses out of the country, is stopping any traveller from bringing own consignments of meat goods from Indonesia and necessitating them to use footmats to clean their shoes at airports when they return.

“To all New Zealanders and travellers remember to be liable. You should be sincere and thorough in your biosecurity declarations as you return from overseas vacation,” she said.

She stressed that any travellers who had interacted with animals in a region recognized to have foot and mouth need to continue to be absent from farms for a 7 days.

Ardern stated ports were being also using further safety measures to make positive that almost nothing, which include shipping containers, coming into the state from Indonesia could possibly be contaminated.

($1 = 1.6041 New Zealand dollars)

Reporting by Lucy Craymer Modifying by Edmund Klamann

Our Specifications: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.