BIOSECURITY
(Protecting The Goat Herd)
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The need for a better biosecurity plan for Clear
Creek Farms became apparent several months ago when
a buyer brought us a present – soremouth!
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During the last foot & mouth disease outbreak
in Great Britain that started in February 2001,
an acquaintance in East Tennessee who owns dairy
goats wrote a long message to an e-list about the
measures she and her family were taking in case
a problem broke out in our state. When I first read
the article, I shook my head in total disbelief
and considered some of her ideas to border on the
paranoid. For example, she kept one vehicle outside
the gates of her property; this way if her property
were quarantined, they would still have a vehicle
they could use to go to work or go grocery shopping.
(According to her message, Tennessee had a plan
that would require all animals within a 2 miles
– or 5 mile, I forget – radius to be
quarantined in case of disease outbreak.) Delivery
trucks were required to drive through a chemically-treated
"bath" entering her property (when she
allowed them to enter at all). Guests (and potential
customers) to her farm were required to don protective
overalls and plastic "booties" before
visiting with her animals which touching one of
her animals was strictly taboo.
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While we considered some of her ideal bazaar and/or
overkill, her message did get us to think about
biosecurity and some practices we could/should institute
on our farm; and after considerable thought, we
considered maybe her policies weren't as crazy as
our first impression seemed. Then, following 9/11/2001,
the media did their best to convince us a terrorist
attack was imminent; animals could be used to create
havoc and destroy the American confidence in the
food supply. So once again biosecurity became important
in our lives – along with risk management.
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Then realism set in. Was a terrorist really going
to introduce bacteria or viruses on a small farm
hidden in the Tennessee hills? (And if the terrorist
actually found our farm, would he ever be able to
find his way out again?) We determined a wild animals
bringing in disease would be much more likely.
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Still, here are some simple biosecurity practices
that can go a long way in protecting our animals.
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In the past we have haphazardly enforced a farm
policy to spray the shoes of visitors with a Clorox/water
solution. We are now trying to find a less damaging
disinfectant to use – one that will not permanently
damage someone's clothes. In the meantime, we will
be purchasing disposable rubber boots for visitors/potential
buyers to wear.
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We do not wear on the farm the shoes we have on
when we go to town, go to visit other farms, or
go to sales – except from the driveway to
the front door. This way we don't track contaminants
on the soles of our shoes to the pasture or barn.
We also change clothes before handling our animals.
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Never underestimate the value of washing hands.
(During the 2001 outbreak of foot & mouth disease
in England, the virus was spread by buyers inspecting
the mouths of sheep at a livestock auction.) We
are concerned when judges at shows put their hands
in our goats' mouths after having hands in other
goat's mouths (and other places). We are considering
providing the judge with Purell Hand Sanitizer to
disinfect their hands.
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Another good practice to get into would be to
spray disinfectant on tires of the truck/trailer
to kill germs from town/friend's farms before driving
on our property (although the disinfectant, in our
case, would probably be washed off crossing the
creek to get to the barn area).
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When we purchase new animals, we dip their hooves
in a disinfectant before we let them off the trailer.
We also keep them in quarantine for 30 to 45 days.
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We also keep our show animals segregated from
the rest of the herd for at least two weeks following
a show.
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Speaking of shows – it is an excellent idea
to keep feed locked in the trailer any time unknown
individuals have access to our animals.
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Following a show, all equipment needs to be cleaned
and, if possible, disinfected before being stored
or put back into use on the farm.
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We should all be aware of who is
stopped outside our fences – tourists or terrorist
or? (In our case, it is probably a hunter looking
for a place to illegally hunt or someone who is totally
lost.) But we do have the practice of keeping our
gates locked in an attempt to keep trespassers out.
(It is easier to keep someone out than to ask someone
to leave!) |
We keep feed
free of contaminates such as manure or urine by cleaning
the troughs regularly. |
We vaccinate against clostridial
diseases (we use Covexin 8) and consider vaccinating
for foot rot (we use Volar on goats with repeat hoof
problems). Should we ever have a problem with abortions,
we will vaccinate against chlamydiosis; and since
we take our goats to shows where they are exposed
to other animals, we vaccinate for caseous lymphadenitis.
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According to Greg Quakenbush, DVM, "Biosecurity
is defined as the sum of the management practices
in place to reduce risk by ensuring the absolute
health of the livestock, therefore protecting the
financial investment and increasing profitability
for the producer." Per Ian Cathles, a goat
producer in Australia, biosecurity is do-it-yourself
animal health – a commonsense approach to
animal husbandry producers should use to protect
themselves and their neighbors from animal disease.
Eugene C. White, DVM, wrote, "Agricultural
biosecurity refers to management practices designed
to prevent the introduction of pathogens into a
herd or the spread of pathogens within a herd that
could harm the herd's health or compromise the quality
of the products produced by the farm."
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Surveillance is the key for keeping the goat industry
free of disease and residues, and the individual
goat producers are, in the words of Carla Everett
(Texas Animal Health Commission), "…
our first line of defense if – or when –
a livestock disease is accidentally or intentionally
introduced" to a goat herd. Both the producers
and the government must stay abreast of potential
hazards that could endanger our animals' health
and/or our food supply.
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We suggest everyone implement and maintain a biosecurity
plan. The diseases and circumstances for each plan
will vary from farm to farm as conditions vary.
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