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Livestock Health and Pest Authorities will become Local Land Services on 1 January 2014. An information brochure about the new organisation is included with this newsletter and your 2013 Land and Stock Return and you are encouraged to read it to find out more.

It’s been a challenging two years for the LHPA as it underwent the State Government’s Ryan Review and then months awaiting the Government’s decision about the future of the organisation. We are proud to have continued to provide important livestock health and pest management services, management of the State’s 600,000 hectares of Travelling Stock Reserves, administration of stock identification and tracing systems including Property Identification Codes, and immediate and effective response in times of emergency. Servicing you, our ratepayers, will continue to be a priority for the LHPA until 1 January 2014 when Local Land Services will take over these roles.

Last month, the Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson MP announced key decisions around Local Land Services. We are confident in the fact that the current services we provide to you will continue, with each regional Local Land Service employing staff with specific skills in biosecurity, agricultural extension, and natural resource management. The LHPA is proud of the significant contributions it has made to the State Government reform to Local Land Services, representing our ratepayers to ensure your needs were acknowledged and considered. Thank you to all of

those people who contributed to the community consultation which also helped shape the final decisions.

As this newsletter goes to print, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) is developing a rating model for Local Land Services. IPART will present its final recommendations to the Minister by the end of November 2013. LHPA rates will be payable in 2014 and you will still be sent a 2014 rates notice as determined by information submitted on your 2013 Land and Stock Return.

I congratulate all LHPA directors and staff for the commitment and loyalty they have shown over the last two years. We are now looking forward to working with the Catchment Management Authorities and Department of Primary Industries agricultural services in the new organisation, and of course you; our ratepayers and NSW landholders.

For more information about Local Land Services, please visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/locallandservices.

Ian Donges

Chair, LHPA State Management Council

Cumberland landholder newsletter

ContentsRabbit biocontrol 2

New pest animal iPhone App 2

Pest animal control program underway 3

Lodge your return online 4

June 2013

Did you know.....?Under the Rural Lands Protection Act 1998, people transporting live feral pigs into the district risk facing fines of up to $22,000 if caught and prosecuted.

Feral Pigs pose the biggest risk to our livestock industries should there be an incursion of foot and mouth disease. They also carry other diseases like leptospirosis and brucellosis, which can infect humans.

Anyone witnessing a vehicle carrying live feral pigs is urged to report the registration details and vehicle description to the Camden LHPA office by phoning 02 4655 9165 or their local police.

Becoming Local Land Services on 1 January 2014

Page 3 - LHPA vet diagnoses botulism in wild ducks

Landholder priorities remain a focus of Local Land Services

LHPA senior district vet and senior ranger undertaking fat sampling in cattle in relation to a pesticide residue problem. Important landholder services will continue under Local Land Services.

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LHPA vet diagnoses botulism in wild ducksThe Cumberland LHPA has demonstrated the important role it plays in animal health services by assisting with the diagnosis of botulism in wild water birds in Nowra recently.

LHPA Senior District Veterinarian Keith Hart became involved with the investigation when approached by a private veterinary practitioner and Shoalhaven Council to assist with finding out why over 200 water birds had died in the December and January period.

Wild ducks had been found dead or dying on two artificial ponds in local parks which caused considerable public concern.

Previous samples from the dead ducks submitted to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) by the Nowra vet practitioner were analysed for a wide variety of toxic chemicals, but no evidence for chemical poisoning was found. Initial investigations could not confirm a diagnosis, so Dr Hart was called in to provide a second opinion.

Several dead and dying ducks and a dying seagull were examined, and samples collected for submission

to the Regional Veterinary Laboratory to attempt a diagnosis of botulism, which is a difficult disease to confirm, even when samples are fresh.

Swabs were also taken to exclude Virulent Avian Influenza – a potentially serious viral disease that could show up initially as water bird mortalities on or near the coast.

The diagnosis was based on the history and clinical signs exhibited by the sick birds examined and described by Council staff, and the fact that botulism is a fairly common cause of waterbird deaths under these conditions.

Laboratory tests later confirmed that botulism was the cause of the deaths, brought on by hot conditions and low water levels. The botulism bacteria produce a very powerful toxin that is lethal to waterbirds that ingest it.

Shoalhaven Council has been advised on how to deal with the problem and what preventative

measures to take to avoid further botulism outbreaks in the ponds.

Cooler weather and rainfall will also assist as the fresh water will fill the ponds and flush out the toxins which contribute to botulism. In the meantime, it is very important that the public don’t touch duck carcasses or allow dogs to touch them.

Assistance provided by the Cumberland LHPA in this case is a good example of a public service provided by the animal health service of the LHPA.

Biological control of wild rabbits in Australia over the last 60 years has produced a benefit of A$70 billion (2011 A$ terms) for agricultural industries, according to a new study published in Australian Economic History Review.

Myxoma virus was introduced in 1950 and has provided some $54 billion in benefits since. Its impact is now quite variable but it is thought to still kill about half of all rabbits it infects today. Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHD), which was established in 1995, is the second biocontrol agent against rabbits.

Myxomatosis initially caused heavy mortality of rabbits of up to 90% and resulted in virtually rabbit-free pastures. This increased carrying capacity and together with improved, sown pasture and superphosphate application there was an immediate, substantial increase in greasy wool production and sheepmeat production. But changes in rabbit resistance to myxomatosis enabled partial recovery of rabbit numbers which resulted in increased government, farmer and other land manager expenditure on poisoning, warren ripping and fumigation to maintain or optimise landholder financial returns.

Similar resistance is developing against RHD with associated slow resurgence of

rabbits.

The 8-year research program to introduce RHDV cost $12 million and once released had an immediate benefit of $350 million a year for agriculture. As there is a lag time between this strategic research and impact, research commitments need to be made now.

The Invasive Animals CRC through Australian Wool Innovation, Meat and Livestock Australia, State governments, CSIRO, Adelaide and Canberra universities, is currently investing in the largest strategic rabbit biocontrol research program in nearly 20 years.

Wild rabbits are Australia’s most costly

vertebrate pest costing agriculture a seemingly unavoidable economic loss of about $200 million annually in addition to untold environmental costs. Given the devastating impact of rabbits on native vegetation regeneration and its role as a natural carbon store, there is an imperative to develop knowledge to better understand this relationship.

According to Cumberland LHPA Senior Ranger Geoff Mills, while biological control agents can and do have a devastating impact on rabbit populations with significant benefits far outweighing the cost of research, there is an underlying message here and that is traditional control methods must still be deployed to address surviving populations.

New iPhone App - Field guide to pest animalsMobile phone and iPad users can now access the latest information about Australia’s pest animals via the new Field Guide to Pest Animals App.

Developed by the Invasive Animals CRC, this App contains species profiles for 31 of Australis’s worst pest animals, including:

� species descriptions � photo galleries � foot prints � audio calls � maps � control techniques � quick links to plenty of pest control resources.

Available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices - download from the Apple store.

Pest animal control program underway

Rabbit biocontrol saves agriculture $70 billion according to a new study

The Cumberland LHPA rolled out a pest animal control project in the Canyonleigh, Joadja and Paddys River areas in April.

The project is funded by the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority (HNCMA) with funds from the Australian Government’s ‘Caring for our Country program’, and aims to lessen the threat to biodiversity caused by invasive pest animals such as wild deer, feral pigs and feral goats.

According to Cumberland LHPA Ranger Charlie Signorelli, the program will benefit landholders throughout the region by minimising threats to native flora and fauna.

“The project will maintain the benefits of ongoing pest control work that has been carried out over the last five years which has resulted in a significant reduction in numbers of pest species,” he said.

“Emerging pest species within the areas, such as fallow deer, will be targeted and as they have easy access to the Wingecarribee River, the degree of environmental impact is very obvious.

“Of particular concern is the damage to the environment, water quality and farming community, both now and in the future”.

Reported sightings of fallow deer have increased significantly and there are concerns about the rate the

population is growing and moving northward. Considerable private landholder involvement is proposed to assist with reducing the numbers of these pest animals.

“We rely on local landholders being involved in the program to make it work, which they can do by signing a consent form of approval, allowing us to achieve greater coverage in our control efforts,” said Mr Signorelli.

The project is supported by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (Highlands Area), Sydney Catchment Authority, Crown Lands NSW and HNCMA. It will run until the end of the year and will complement previous aerial, trapping and baiting programs undertaken.

Information provided courtesy of Invasive Animals CRC

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Why have I been sent a land and stock return?The information you provide in your Land and Stock Return helps us build a statewide picture about agricultural usage and livestock numbers. Along with the stock ID and traceability systems we manage, this information is invaluable in the event of an emergency disease outbreak.

Even if you have no stock, it is important for you to complete a Land and Stock Return. Unless you complete a return, we automatically apply an animal health charge to next year’s rates. It is also a legal requirement that you lodge a return under the Rural Lands Protection Act 1998.

Remember, your 2013 Land and Stock Return should be lodged online or received by us by 31 August 2013.

3 simple steps to online lodgement of your return

For more information visit our website

www.lhpa.org.au

There are three simple steps to online lodgement:

1Look at the top-right hand corner of the enclosed Land

and Stock Return for your Holding reference number and online password.

2 Visit www.lhpa.org.au/landandstock and log in

using your Holding reference number and unique online password.

3 Fill in your land and stock details.

LHPA district vets have recently confirmed three day sickness in cattle in the district and are now alerting local farmers to be on the lookout for signs of the disease.

Cases of three day sickness, which is also known as Bovine Ephemeral Fever, have been diagnosed in the St Albans and North Richmond areas in the north west of the Sydney Basin. Cases were also seen in beef cattle at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in late March. Laboratory testing also confirmed the disease on a property at Berry (Illawarra Coast), representing a major extension in the distribution of the disease.

Cumberland LHPA Senior District Veterinarian Keith Hart said that the current outbreak has been expected.

“Veterinary colleagues in north coastal NSW have been reporting cases of three day sickness since December last year. There was a confirmation at Maitland in late February, and cases were reported in the Mangrove Mountain and Wyong area recently, so it was only a matter of time before the disease spilled over into the Sydney Basin,” he said.

Three day sickness is spread by biting insects, usually mosquitoes, and the number of current reports indicates that there are a large number of vector insects carrying the virus as a result of good rainfall

during summer.

Dr Hart advises that cattle should be checked regularly for signs of the disease, which include lethargy, lameness and drooling. Three day sickness can also temporarily reduce fertility in bulls so it’s important that it be checked for and diagnosed as soon as possible.

� Sick animals should be provided with water and shade.

� If recumbent bulls are found or if you have other valuable animals that could be affected, consult your private veterinarian.

� It’s far too late to attempt vaccination, but cattle owners could consider using one of the insect repellent pour-ons to give some protection to vulnerable classes of cattle such as bulls, pregnant cows and lactating dairy cattle.Insect transmission of three day sickness can be expected until early winter, so treatment may need to be repeated three to four weeks later.

The Cumberland LHPA has been monitoring to see how far south the virus spread to the Illawarra coast before winter. In the past, three day sickness spread has been confined to areas north of the Shoalhaven River. This year could be an exception, so cattle owners located south of the river should also be on the lookout for symptoms of three day sickness in their cattle.

Three day sickness confirmed in Sydney Basin and Illawarra Coast

Contact us

Camden (district main office)

61 John Street, (PO Box 141), Camden NSW 2570

Ph 02 4655 9165, Fax 02 4655 3054

Maitland

52 Kyle Street, Rutherford NSW 2320

Ph 02 4932 8866, Fax 02 4932 5706