South Australia in a rigorous ongoing biosecurity fight against fruit fly and other plant pests

The South Australian agricultural biosecurity fight includes protecting livestock against disease.
Image courtesy PIRSA (Primary Industries and Research SA)

From detecting footrot in 1875 and phylloxera in vines, South Australia has fought constantly to control many diseases affecting livestock and crops.

South Australia was lucky to avoid worse disease attacks in the era before 1879 when no quarantine measures were in place around Australia. An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in England in 1915 strengthened national quarantine, with federal laws in place by 1929.

Protecting crops has developed with agricultural industries but the push to control and eradicate was stepped up after World War II.

Sheep scab, footrot in sheep, fruit fly and plague locusts are just a few of the diseases and pests that have attracted support from government and industry for research into their prevention or eradication.

The state government’s Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) Biosecurity SA division manages the risks to South Australia posed by animal and plant pests and diseases, food-borne illnesses and misuse of rural chemicals.

Services by Biosecurity SA include animal health (disease surveillance and control), plant health (keeping fruit fly and other plant pests out of the state), weed and pest animal control (natural resource management biosecurity), managing aquatic pests, food safety, rural chemical operations and managing emergencies.

Every year the state government spends about $5 million keeping fruit fly and other plant pests out of the state, through prevention, detection and eradication.