Sheep producers warned not to make false footrot declarations on AuctionsPlus

Producers have been warned falsely declaring sheep sold on AuctionsPlus are free of benign footrot – opens them up to potential legal action.

Veterinarians and researchers say benign footrot is widespread, so why are so many vendors saying their flocks are free of the disease?

Sheep producers are declaring consignments sold on the AuctionsPlus livestock trading platform “are free of benign footrot or scald”, despite no assessment of the animals’ feet and half the flocks in southern Australia carrying the bacterial disease.

Leading veterinarians and sheep health experts have warned producers making false declarations open themselves up to potential legal action.

Assessments listed on AuctionsPlus from Tasmania, Victoria and NSW repeatedly state “all consigned sheep are from a flock that is free of benign footrot or scald” and goes on the state “feet were not inspected at assessment”.

But world-leading University of Sydney sheep health researcher Om Dhungyel said there was no way a declaration could be made without inspecting the animals’ feet, given the prevalence of benign footrot across the nation’s south was about 50 per cent.

“If you say they’ve (sheep’s feet) not been inspected, you could not make that statement legally,” Professor Dhungyel.

“It’s always buyer beware. (But) if it was decided in court, it could go either way.”

Professor Dhungyel said benign footrot had production impacts, especially under current wet conditions, where dense wet pastures could cause flare ups, causing lameness, pain and leading to declines in condition scores.

McKinnon Project specialist sheep veterinarian John Webb-Ware said the use of the term “scald” in the declaration was “pretty loose, given it meant different things to different people”.

“I’ve seen people, who’ve talked about having a touch of scald, when they have virulent footrot,” Dr Webb-Ware said.

As it stands Dr Webb-Ware said the declaration was “bordering on useless”.

AuctionsPlus chief executive Angus Street said the company used the nationally accepted Sheep Health Declaration as its foundation of duty of disclosure for footrot in assessments.

“It is the vendors responsibility to advise the livestock assessor (agent) whether all mobs have been checked during at least one spread period, and any lameness investigated, with no symptoms of the disease observed”.

“It is imperative that vendors understand their responsibilities and be satisfied when disclosing animal health information in AuctionsPlus assessments because a buyer can request a signed copy of the NSHD and they are then potentially liable for incorrect information.”

The NSHD states:“persons making false statements may be liable under fair trading and other relevant state legislation”.

Hamilton veterinarian Andrew Whale said benign footrot was widespread, yet there were few lots on the AuctionsPlus platform that declared they had the bacterial disease.

Dr Whale said there was nearly no sheep feet assessment by agents included in declarations, which was critical to determining footrot status.

He said agents were getting 3-5 per cent commission on these lots, which was $15 a head on animals worth $300 each, yet not doing inspections.

“I ask farmers if they need to footbath their sheep in spring,” Dr Whale said. “If they say ‘of course’, I say that’s because you have benign footrot.”