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Advice to Travellers - Foot and Mouth Disease
Australia has been free of foot and mouth disease for 135 years. Please help us keep it that way.
August 4 2007, FMD Outbreak in Britain - Media release by former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
The former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry advises that increased quarantine messages are now in place for all flights arriving from Britain, and passengers travelling from the UK.
What is foot and mouth disease (FMD)?
FMD is a viral disease that affects cloven-footed animals including cattle, buffalo, camels, sheep, goats, deer and pigs. FMD is generally most severe in cattle and pigs, but is not a human health risk.
How is it transmitted?
FMD can spread from one animal to another in saliva, mucus, milk or faeces. It can also spread on wool, hair, grass or straw; on footwear, clothing, livestock equipment or on vehicle tyres. All of these items are a potential quarantine risk and must be declared on arrival in Australia.
An outbreak of foot and mouth disease could devastate Australia’s livestock industries, costing the economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. You can help keep Australia FMD free by following a few simple quarantine precautions.
Be aware and prepare
Increased quarantine measures for all passengers from the UK may result in queuing delays and longer processing times for international passengers. To help minimise passenger delays travellers are advised to prepare for quarantine processing before they return.
What you can do
- avoid contact with susceptible livestock;
- wash shoes that have been worn in rural areas including on farms, at markets and Zoos, or near animals such as monkeys, cattle and chickens;
- make sure you clean ALL soil from your hiking boots, sports shoes, golf clubs, camping gear, backpacks and mountain bikes;
- ensure the clothing and footwear you're wearing are free of soil or manure;
- pack items of quarantine concern together, and keep them at the top of your bag to make inspection easier and quicker when you return and,
- find out what can't be brought into Australia.
Australian Quarantine requirements
On arrival
All passengers arriving in Australia will be given an Incoming Passenger Card (IPC). This is a legal document and must be completed honestly.
Passengers who have visited a rural area or been in contact with, or near farm animals in the past 30 days should also declare this to AQIS.
Articles such as shoes, sporting equipment or camping gear can be contaminated with soil, which is one way FMD could enter Australia. It is important that you declare these items for inspection. You must also declare all food, plant material and animal products on arrival in Australia to ensure they are free of pests and diseases.
If you are unsure about an item, declare it.
Confiscation and treatment
In many cases items you declare will be returned to you after inspection. However, anything that presents a FMD risk, such as footwear and clothing that have soil on them will require cleaning.
Declared food items such as meat or dairy products will be inspected and depending on the quarantine risk, you will be given the option to:
- store the items at the airport for collection when you leave Australia*;
- re-export the item*; or
- have them destroyed by AQIS.
*these options are subject to fees and special conditions may apply.
Note that import conditions for some dairy products from the UK have changed in response to the FMD outbreak. View ICON for the latest information on import conditions.
More information on foot and mouth disease.
