News and media

Australia’s biosecurity detector dogs continued their outstanding work last year, screening incoming passengers and goods for biosecurity risk items at airports, mail centres and sea ports.

Head of Biosecurity at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Lyn O’Connell, said detector dogs are a vital part of Australia’s frontline defence against pests and diseases.

“Our detector dogs were a howling success again last year, intercepting more than 56,000 biosecurity risk items across our airports and mail centres,” Ms O’Connell said.

National registration of the Curiosity® bait for feral cats will support efforts to protect and recover Australia’s remarkable native wildlife.

The Curiosity® bait for feral cats is a small sausage with a hard plastic pellet containing a humane toxin (para-aminopropiophenone, or PAPP). The bait has been designed to minimise the risk to native animals and a hard shell limits access to the pellet by animals other than cats.

Australia’s artificial light pollution guidelines for wildlife have been endorsed by the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP13) in Gandhinagar, India.

The Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife including Marine Turtles, Seabirds and Migratory Shorebirds raise awareness of the potential impacts of artificial light on wildlife and provide a framework for assessing and managing these impacts.

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) has concluded its regulatory investigation into the Meramist abattoir in Queensland following media reporting of animal welfare concerns.

In October last year the department commenced a regulatory investigation with a focus of ensuring Meramist and its operations were competent in animal welfare management.

DAWE identified non-compliance with the Australian Meat Standard —a standard which all abattoirs producing red meat for human consumption must adhere to. 

Biosecurity officers recently intercepted a number of fruit items at Australia’s borders, which were found to be carrying a citrus disease. 

Head of Biosecurity, Lyn O’Connell, said the items were intercepted on separate occasions and all tested positive for citrus canker pathogen.

“This is an example of the significant biosecurity risks that Australia faces and why it is so important to follow our biosecurity conditions,” Ms O’Connell said.