Update: 29 March
Precautionary testing undertaken by the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness has returned negative results for Lumpy Skin Disease and Foot and Mouth Disease, confirming that there is no evidence of an exotic disease.
Australia’s Animal Health Status remains unchanged.
Update: 28 March
Australia has received confirmation from the Indonesian authorities that the export of live cattle from a particular registered establishment in the Northern Territory has been temporarily suspended, pending further investigations to determine the cause of the incident.
The suspension follows the confirmed mortalities on-board the Brahman Express.
The department continues to investigate the cause of the livestock mortalities. Clinical signs present in the cattle are consistent with botulism.
The department is committed to working closely with our international trading partners to provide assurance that all animals exported from Australia comply with their animal health requirements.
Australia is confident that there is no evidence of an exotic disease, and our animal health status remains unchanged.
Update: 28 March
The department is aware that Indonesia may temporarily suspend the import of live cattle from one Australian facility pending the finalisation of the investigation of recent cattle deaths on the Brahman Express.
The department is awaiting official correspondence from Indonesia to confirm this.
The department continues to cooperate with Indonesian officials to provide assurance in relation to the circumstances and will provide a report to them at the conclusion of the investigation.
The department continues to investigate the cause of livestock mortalities reported on the Brahman Express.
Clinical signs present in the cattle appear to be consistent with botulism.
Botulism in cattle is most often caused by the cattle eating a toxin produced by bacteria in contaminated feed. It is not a contagious or exotic disease and is not a risk to the Australian herd or to human health.
Detecting botulism through tests is often difficult, owing to the low amounts of toxin present in the bloodstream of affected cattle. As a result, testing for botulism is a process of elimination and will take some time.
Testing undertaken at the Northern Territory Government’s Berrimah Veterinary Laboratory has excluded Bovine Ephemeral Fever and tick fever as possible causes of mortality. A number of other tests are still underway as part of the investigation.
Australia is confident that there is no evidence of an exotic disease, and our animal health status remains unchanged.
The department is committed to working closely with our international trading partners to provide assurance that all animals exported from Australia comply with their animal health requirements.
Livestock mortalities on the Brahman Express
26 March 2024
We have been notified by a commercial exporter of an incident involving cattle deaths on a live export vessel exporting to Indonesia.
Prior to departure, the department undertook pre-export inspections to ensure that the livestock met requirements under the Export Control Act 2020 and importing-country requirements.
There is no suggestion that exotic animal disease is involved. We are investigating the incident as per normal procedures and as a matter of priority.
Australia remains free of exotic animal diseases such as Lumpy Skin Disease and Foot and Mouth Disease.
