Ban on sheep imports lifted by Brazil

Press, 10 August 1985, Page 5

Ban on sheep imports lifted by Brazil

PA Wanganui Brazil has lifted a ban on importation of sheep from New Zealand. The ban, on sheep imports from New Zealand and other countries, was imposed about a month ago after scrapie broke out in Wiltshire horns imported from Britain. Scrapie is a disease affecting the nervous system of sheep. It is characterised by a long incubation period, sometimes measured in years. The disease gets its name from the way sheep rub and scrape against objects in an effort to relieve the itching. It is not present in New Zealand. The “Wanganui Chronicle” reports that it learned of the lifting of the ban in relation to New Zealand in a telephone call this week from the Brazil Embassy in Canberra. An embassy spokesman said it had been advised by the Government that the scrapie broke out in sheep imported from Britain and that the ban “does not apply

to New Zealand or Australia”. However the Ministry of Agriculture in Wellington could not confirm the information. The acting director of animal health, Mr Mike Davidson, said Brazil had reacted to the outbreak of scrapie by banning importation of all sheep. “We immediately sent a cable to our honorary consul there explaining why we should be exempt,” he said. According to a veterinary staff officer with the Ministry, Mr Gordon Schwarz, the ministry learned of the situation in Brazil by way of a note from New Zealand’s honorary consul. The note not only advised of the scrapie outbreak, Mr Schwarz said, but also said an article in a Brazilian newspaper stated that scrapie was present in New Zealand. “We wrote back straight away to explain that' we didn’t have scrapie,” Mr Schwarz said. He had not heard of the lifting of the ban.