Anyone arriving in New Zealand from Indonesia now will be required to disinfect their shoes via Biosecurity New Zealand footmats, as the government tightens border security to try keep foot-and-mouth disease out of the country.
This picture taken on 29 June, 2022 shows a veterinarian administering a vaccine for foot-mouth-disease to a cow in Bandar Lampung, Lampung province. Photo: AFP
It's hoped the trial mats will reduce the risk of travellers from Indonesia bringing in the disease on their shoes, which could lead to an outbreak.
Border officials in New Zealand and Australia have been on high alert since an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in Indonesia on 28 April.
Earlier this month, the disease was also confirmed in the holiday hotspot of Bali.
Biosecurity and Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said the disinfecting mats were part of a range of measures to keep the disease out.
"With FMD recently found in the tourist hotspot of Bali, we've taken concrete steps to boost our work at the border in recent weeks including a public awareness campaign," O'Connor said.
"I call on everyone to be vigilant in playing their part to protect New Zealand's economic security."
The government has also rolled out an awareness campaign targeting travellers en-route to Indonesia, audited the Indonesian palm kernel, and provided PPE, disinfectant, backpack sprayers and other tools to Indonesia to help on the ground.
"We do not currently have any flights directly from Bali or elsewhere in Indonesia to New Zealand," O'Connor said.
"Regardless of this, every passenger arrival card is examined and those from countries that have FMD (including Indonesia) are directed to a different process of questioning, baggage search and disinfection.
"This means that should passengers transit other airports, risks are still addressed.
"We also strongly urge anyone who was in contact with livestock in Indonesia, to stay away from farms and animals in New Zealand for one week."
O'Connor urged farmers to check their livestock for symptoms of the disease, including high fever, mouth and feet blisters or erosions and lameness.
Anyone who sees pigs, goats, alpacas, llamas, cattle, sheep or deer with potential foot-and-mouth symptoms should contact MPI's exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66.
Industry group Beef and Lamb NZ is backing MPI's response, saying New Zealand has one of the strictest borders in the world.
Senior manager for technical policy Chris Houston said every extra protection measure at the border was welcome.
Houston said while the risk to New Zealand from the Indonesian outbreak remained low, it was a reminder for farmers to be strict about record keeping.
"We've been working with our farmers to help them understand the situation and to basically remind them of the biosecurity things that they need to be mindful of and can do to help, such as remaining vigilant and looking at the stock and knowing what to do if they see signs of disease.
"It's really important as well, that we we maintain traceability of records, so NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing) records, and then ASDs, or animal status declarations.
"Those are the paper-based movement records for groups of sheep travelling between farms.
"There's a an electronic equivalent of the ASD that's currently being rolled out by OSPRI, and we would strongly encourage sheep farmers to look at using electronic ASDs in preference to the paper based forms, because that would be much more valuable in the event that we have a disease incursion and we need to trace."