Biosecurity

When biosecurity officer, Lucy Collingridge visited our school, she taught us the udder (get it, utter?) importance of biosecurity in the wool industry. This then inspired us to incorporate its significance in our blog.

What is Biosecurity?

Bio-security is a set of measures designed to prevent and protect a property from the entry and spread of diseases, pests and weeds that could potentially cause harm to any living beings within that property or in other properties.

How does Biosecurity relate to the wool industry?

Bio-security plays a major role in the production of wool as it ensures the sheep are healthy and safe from any potential harm. It guarantees that the wool yielded from the sheep is the best quality possible.

The three issues Biosecurity helps to protect us from:

Diseases

Weeds

Diseases that can infect sheep include:

-- Foot and Mouth disease

-- Sore Mouth

-- Parasitic Infections

-- Mastitis

-- Pneumonia

-- Listeriosis

Weeds that can affect sheep include:

-- Garden Iris

-- St John's Wort

-- Morning Glory

-- English Ivy

-- Pimelea

-- Perennial ryegrass

Pests

Pests that can affect sheep include:

-- Foxes

-- Wild pigs

-- Wild dogs

-- Deer

-- Sheep Keds

-- Lice/ticks

-- House bot flies