Being an agricultural tourism operator means that you have an important role to play in helping to protect your business, the tourism sector and the state from the impact of pests, weeds and diseases.
Listed below are some biosecurity actions you can take to meet your general biosecurity duty (GBD) and to help keep your business - and Tasmania - biosecurity safe.
Develop a Biosecurity Plan
Developing and implementing an appropriate biosecurity plan for your business is a key step that you can take.
Biosecurity plans should contain actions aimed at preventing the introduction or spread of pests, weeds and disease on your property, or on the properties that you visit. They are also a good way to educate staff, visitors and clients on the importance of biosecurity. There are many on-line resources to assist with this – the
Farm Biosecurity website is a great starting point.
Important Biosecurity Actions
Ensuring visitors are made aware of any biosecurity requirements on your property, including completion of sign-in logs and the need for good vehicle, equipment, clothing and personal hygiene when travelling between sites.
Establish a dedicated visitor parking area, traffic route and visitor walking route to prevent unapproved access to your operation.
Biosecurity vigilance (also known as Notification of a Biosecurity Event)
If you are the operator or employee of an agricultural tourism site, some essential actions include:
If you
SEE something on your property or place of employment that is unusual or of biosecurity concern, such as potential exotic plant/animal pests, weeds or diseases, or invasive animal species;
SECURE the site by restricting access (and limiting movement in the case of suspected animal diseases) AND take a photo, noting the location; and then
REPORT it to Biosecurity Tasmania as soon as possible - see reporting details below.
Please note: Taking samples in the field may increase the risk of spreading the biosecurity risk so Biosecurity Tasmania will provide further instruction regarding possible sample collection and submission.
Livestock or other animals
Regularly check gates, fences and enclosures and repair any damage to prevent the escape or entry of livestock or other animals.
Register your property with a Property Identification Code (PIC). Owners of a property with one or more head of cattle, sheep, goats or pigs, or that commercially farm poultry for meat or eggs, must apply for a PIC. Owners of properties with animals such as horses and alpacas, or that are engaging in any form of primary industries enterprise are strongly encouraged to register for a PIC. Your PIC should be updated at least bi-anually, or as your specific situation changes.
Engage the services of a veterinarian and maintain a working relationship to help manage the health and welfare requirements of your livestock or other animals as required.
Monitor your animals regularly for signs of sickness. If your animals do get sick, get them checked by a veterinarian to make sure they don’t have a notifiable disease.
Ensure that if you
sell or move livestock from one property to another, or transport animals for slaughter, all animals must be identified to NLIS requirements and travel with the correct documentation.
Ensure that when you move livestock from one property to another, or transport animals for slaughter,
all animals are fit to load for the intended journey and meet all other health requirements.
Send your livestock to an accredited abattoir for slaughter or engage a mobile butchery service to attend your premise to produce meat for your own consumption.
Apply animal welfare requirements, as described in relevant legislation, codes of practice, guidelines and quality assurance programs.
Never feed prohibited pig feed to pigs, Restricted Animal Material (RAM) to ruminant animals (for example, cattle, sheep and goats), or offal to dogs, and ensure that visitors are not permitted to bring food onto the property for the purpose of feeding animals.
Engage veterinarian help for any sick or injured animals as soon as practicable. If death is confirmed, ensure that the carcass of any animal on or in the premises is buried, burned or otherwise suitably disposed of within a reasonable time after the carcass has been discovered. Ensure that dogs are not able to access offal from carcasses due to
hydatids risk.
Pests, weeds and diseases
Work with licenced pest controllers and Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas), where required, in the control and management of pest animals, such as
rabbits, on your property.
Understand your responsibilities in the control of
weeds on your property and take all reasonable measures to limit their impact and spread.
To reduce the risk of common garden plants (or aquarium plants) becoming
environmental weeds – consider composing all green waste within your own contained composting system to be used again on your property or, alternatively, utilise council green waste bins and facilities. Do not illegally dump green waste into the environment.
Ensure that agricultural and veterinary chemicals are used as per label, or applicable off-label permit (i.e. appropriately to minimise risk to human health, animal health, plant health and the environment). Find out more about AgVet chemical use in Tasmania.
Additional biosecurity actions when visiting other properties and sites
If you run or work for a touring business that visits various agricultural and/or wilderness sites, some essential actions include:
Before arrival at a property – contact the landowner or farm manager and determine whether there are any specific biosecurity protocols which you will need to follow.
Ensure that both your and your clients’ clothes, vehicles and equipment are clean on arrival and free of soil and plant material (such as weed seeds).
Upon arrival – obey any biosecurity signage information and sign the visitor register if there is one in use.
Use designated laneways and tracks where possible, avoid travelling across agricultural production areas and ensure clothes, vehicles and equipment are clean prior going into paddocks, growing areas, bushland or similar.
Leave farm gates as you found them (i.e. open or closed), unless otherwise instructed by the property owner or manager, or signage. Report any damage to fences to the property owner/manager to prevent the escape or entry of livestock or other animals.
Don’t allow clients to feed animals unless the owner gives you specific permitted and species-appropriate food to do so.
When you leave the property – make sure your vehicle and equipment are cleaned (if on-site facilities are available) or at a minimum ensure you clean down your vehicle and equipment before entering the next property. Carrying a basic, personal biosecurity kit is a good way of decontaminating vehicles, clothing and equipment. Recommended contents and instructions on putting a kit together can be found at the Farm Biosecurity website.
Importing items into Tasmania
If you are purchasing goods from outside Tasmania for your business (especially stockfeed, seeds, plants and plant products, or some animal products such as semen) you need to check whether they are permitted to be imported into Tasmania. Visit the Biosecurity Tasmania website for more information.
If you are importing equipment or machinery, you need to take all reasonable and practicable measures to ensure that they are cleaned and free of all soil, seeds and plant matter prior to arriving in Tasmania, as per Import Requirement 39 in the
Plant Biosecurity Manual Tasmania. Some machinery, such as viticultural equipment, may have to meet additional import requirements.
If you are importing seeds in consignments under 1kg as per Import Requirement 36 in the Plant Biosecurity Manual Tasmania, ensure that they are sourced from an approved supplier, or consider applying to become a registered importer if you plan on importing seeds on a regular basis.
Contact and Reporting
Contact Biosecurity Tasmania for general information or to report a suspected pest, weed or disease:
Phone: (03) 6165 3777
Email: Biosecurity.Tasmania@nre.tas.gov.au
Alternatively, for reporting pests, weeds or diseases, you can call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline (1800 084 881) or the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline (1800 675 858).
Stay up to date on biosecurity in Tasmania
Subscribing to get Tasmanian Biosecurity Advisories is the best way you can keep yourself up-to-date and fully informed about Tasmanian biosecurity issues. Our Advisories cover topics such as changes or proposed changes to Tasmania’s import regulations, animal health and welfare, plant health, forthcoming regulation reviews and opportunities for public comment, new or emerging pest/disease risks and a range of other matters related to Tasmania’s biosecurity.
Follow Biosecurity Tasmania on Facebook.
Please note that this information contains minimum recommendations only. The GBD requires a person dealing with biosecurity matter or a carrier to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent, eliminate or minimise any biosecurity risk associated with the dealing. Such measures may not be specified in any regulations, guidelines or other official publications.