Moves to tighten law on animal diseases

Press, 20 November 1982, Page 2

Moves to tighten law on animal diseases

Parliamentary reporter Legislation covering the outbreak of animal diseases will be strengthened in the wake of the foot-and-mouth disease scare in Temuka last year. Two clauses in the Animals Amendment Bill, which was introduced in Parliament by the. Minister of Agriculture, Mr Maclntyre, yesterday, will tighten the provisions relating to the notification of disease and I the isolation of infected ’ areas. h | Mr Maclntyre said the ■proposed changes to the.Anirrials Act, 1967, had been introduced in the light of the . experience gained from the outbreak of a disease fammong pigs on., a Temuka farm. . The foot-and-mouth scare, which, started in February last year when pigs on the farm .developed symptoms similar to those of foot-and-mouth disease, sparked . a huge Ministry of Agriculture effort. The area was isolated and within 24 hours 169 pigs

in the herd had been slaughtered. Although the cause of the vesicular disease suffered by the pigs has never been identified, agriculture officials established within two weeks that it was not foot-and-mouth. Under the provisions of the new bill, any veterinary surgeon or animal owner who suspects an animal to be diseased will be required to notify an agricultural inspector immediately. They will be I required to keep the animdl away from any other animals. A fine of $lOOO a day will be introduced for failure to comply with the new requirements. The bill will give chief veterinary officers the right to declare any area infected and to limit the movement of anything into, out of, or within the area. Fines under this section of the act will be increased from $lOOO to $5OOO. Other provisions included in the nine-clause bill, which

did not meet with any opposition, cover the importation of animals, simplify the provisions on tuberculosis testing in deer and repeal provisions for tuberculosis testing in swine. The bill will give the Minister of Agriculute the power to give general approvals for the importation of some animals without a separate permit for each import. Mr Maclntyre said examples would be cats, dogs and horses from Australia.Mr Maclntyre assured the House that snakes would not be included among the animals which could be imported without a permit. Nor would the new provision cover animal embryos. The Government has said it might be prepared to change the law to allow the actress, Bo Derek, to import a boa constrictor for use in making a planned film, “Eve and that Damned Apple.” There is now some doubt that the film will be made. The bill was referred to a select committee for study.