Partnership key for foot and mouth response

The ministry and representatives from key animal industry bodies have just spent a day exercising how the first 12 hours of an FMD outbreak would play out.

"New Zealand's economic prosperity is highly dependent on our current FMD-free status and our ability to manage an outbreak of FMD, should it ever arrive here, says deputy director general, compliance and response, Andrew Coleman.

"We organised last Thursday's Exercise Capricorn workshop to familiarise industry with MPI's initial response procedures, to explore the use of the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) and FarmsOnLine applications, and to identify opportunities to enhance communication.

"The connecting threads throughout the day were partnership and communication."
The scenario was based on a possible FMD outbreak on both a dairy and a beef property and break out sessions worked through the issues surrounding taking urgent measures (for example controls on movements of stock), trade implications and communications.

Ben O'Brien, general manager – market access, Beef + Lamb New Zealand says Exercise Capricorn was a very good opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the systems in place to manage a disease outbreak and how the initial stages of such an emergency would play out.