The Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru, says live cattle import is not the best option to develop the cattle industry in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
He was making refence to a recent media article yesterday on the Livestock Development Corporations proposal to import live cattle from a cattle farm in Queensland.
“This proposal should be outlawed. It is definitely not in the best interest of PNG because importing of live cattle poses huge biosecurity risks,” Minister Maru said.
He said live imports of cattle will bring in pests and diseases.
Maru said disease outbreak could cause major production losses that can affect PNG’s potential international livestock trade and have drastic economic and social impact on the whole country.
“First example was in 1970s were importation of cattle and buffaloes from Queensland and Northern Territory respectively to Urimo in the Sepik Plains also imported cattle tick and brucellosis that have devasted the 10,000 cattle herds and beef industry in Sepik.
“Feral buffaloes, remnants of that importation are still carrying the brucellosis disease in the Sepik Plains,” he said
Maru stated the wild buffaloes are difficult to control which is preventing new initiative for cattle raising in the Sepik Plains as the disease has the potential of infecting cattle.
“Second example is the outbreak of cattle tick in Markam Valley in 1996. Ticks were imported along with live cattle from Queensland for breeding by a major cattle company.
“Thanks to the NAQIA and the Cattle Industry for quick actions to contain and stump out the pests from spreading,” he said.
Maru said these are the facts to consider when contemplating to import live animals into the country, adding that LDC’s plan to import live cattle from Australia must be stopped
“Import of live cattle has the potential to wipe out and destroy the cattle industry of PNG instead of growing it based on solid experience of the past which we have all learnt from,” he said.
Maru said an alternative to live cattle import for breeding is artificial insemination or artificial breeding using semen imported from cattle genetic companies.