Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned that a foot-and-mouth outbreak in Indonesia could cost thousands of New Zealand jobs as her country and neighboring Australia tightened biosecurity restrictions at the borders.
“While it poses no threat to humans, it would wipe out our national flock. Essentially all animals with claws are endangered,” Ardern told reporters in Wellington.
Ardern warned that the disease, first detected in Indonesia in April, has the potential to threaten up to 100,000 jobs in New Zealand’s agriculture.
Foot and mouth disease is a serious, highly contagious viral disease affecting livestock.
This can have significant economic implications, especially for a country like New Zealand, which exported around 17 million sheep and two million cattle in the eight months to May 2022.
A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has swept through two Indonesian provinces, killing thousands of cows and infecting hundreds of thousands more.
Ardern said New Zealand has never had an outbreak – and wants to keep it that way by tightening border restrictions.
“We want to make sure we have all of our settings in place to protect ourselves from this emerging threat,” she added.
There are currently no direct flights from Indonesia to New Zealand, but Ardern said it was important to prevent entry into the country, possibly via Australian tourists who had visited Southeast Asia.
Travelers from Indonesia will not be allowed to bring meat products into New Zealand, luggage will be screened and there will be disinfectant mats at airports to clean shoes.
Parcels and luggage from China and Indonesia are now being checked in Australia, and there are also floor mats at airports in response to the epidemic.
Canberra has so far rejected opposition calls for a complete closure of the border with Indonesia, but has not ruled out further measures.
Ardern said her government is working with Australian authorities to try to further reduce the risk.
New Zealand will fully open its borders to all visitors at midnight on Sunday.
New Zealand Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor said “vigilance is absolutely crucial” as the disease could also affect up to 77 per cent of the country’s wildlife population, including wild deer, pigs and sheep.
He recalled how foot-and-mouth disease devastated British agriculture in 2001, when millions of cattle and sheep had to be slaughtered.
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