Page 8 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Free ranging wallabies have also been found to be hosts for staphylococci (skin bacteria) demonstrating AMR.
The best examples are the fungi that led to the development of penicillin.
The same is true for cap- tive breeding and release programs.
Wild antimicrobial resistance merry-go-round
ANTIMICROBIAL re- sistance occurs in both wildlife and their envi- ronment.
human use of new anti- microbials has driven the emergence of more and different types of AMR.
animals, crops, shellfish, livestock, and humans – round and round.
areas as migratory birds. They all live together on water courses and they share roosting sites with
It is likely that resistant microorganisms are cy- cling from people and ani- mals through wildlife and back into the ecosystem.
While antimicrobial re- sistance is commonly seen in many bacterial species, the development of resist- ance to several drugs at once is a relatively recent concern.
Other examples of drug resistance transfer occur when sick or injured wild- life are taken into human care for treatment.
other birds.
Gulls are a focus of
Bacteria have an evolu- tionary ability to develop resistance to antibiotics.
Most pork producers will be aware of multi- drug resistant salmo- nellas, brachyspires (swine dysentery), E coli and even actinobacillus (pleuropneumonia).
They feed at rubbish tips and provide a direct pathway for transmission of bacteria (and their re- sistance genes) from hu- mans to wildlife.
There are naturally oc- curring antimicrobial pro- ducing microorganisms in soils and the evidence for this goes back thousands of years.
Antimicrobial resistance is a fact of life in animal as well as human medi- cine.
If these animals find their way back to the wild after treatment, they pro- vide a potential source of environmental exposure.
Around the highly pop- ulated Australian coast, seagulls carry microor- ganisms with a high level of resistance to several critically important an- timicrobials used in hu- mans.
During the modern era,
The evidence suggests AMR in wildlife is as- sociated with proximity to humans or domestic animals.
Brush-tailed rock-walla- bies are a good example.
The major contributor to AMR in any species is the use of antimicrobial medicines.
Pork Innovation WA, the state’s industry-led pork research group, was suc- cessful in both rounds of the grants program, with projects to stimulate in- novation along the value chain.
However, labelling is complex and sometimes confusing.
A key focus of the first project – establishing Western Australia as the
PIWA Chairman Dr Rob Wilson said: “Of the 40,000 sows in WA, 27 percent are farmed under APIQP Free Range and Outdoor Bred conditions, well above the national average of nine percent.”
Producers and veterinar- ians shared their experi- ences and highlighted the key challenge in overseas systems as being limiting antibiotic use without compromising animal welfare.
They may be treated with antimicrobial drugs or inadvertently exposed to antimicrobial residues through faeces of other treated animals or hu- mans.
AMR research because of their contact with hu- mans.
AUSTRALIAN PORK LIMITED
ADVANCE NOTICE OF 2020 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting of Australian Pork Limited (ABN 83 092 783 278) (APL) will be held on Thursday 19 November 2020 commencing at 12.30pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Convention Centre Place, Melbourne, Victoria , 30 06.
The business of the Annual General Meeting will include:
• receiving and considering the nancial statements of the company, together with the reports of the Directors and Auditor in respect of year ended 30 June 2020
• appointing the company Auditor for 2020–2021 and setting their remuneration
• voting to amend the APL Constitution to allow the removal of an APL Delegate under reasonable circumstances
• electing two producer Directors
• ratifying the appointment of three specialist Directors
• considering resolutions proposed to the company by Members and Delegates prior to the annual return date (7 September 2020).
The APL Annual Report will be made available on the APL website and relevant meeting papers will be circulated to Members, Associate Members, Delegates, Directors and the Auditor no less than 28 days prior to the Annual General Meeting.
For the purposes of determining a Member’s voting rights, if the annual Pig Slaughter Levy Amount paid by a Member has changed since last reported to APL, or if a Member wishes to revoke the standing consent associated with their PigPass Declaration, the Member may provide a new statutory declaration to APL prior to the return date.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact APL’s Corporate Services Executive, Nikki Watson, on 02 6270 8814 or nikki.watson@australianpork.com.au
Water contaminated with human, livestock or aquaculture waste is the most important way for the transmission of resistance from humans or domestic livestock to wildlife.
Free ranging wallabies have also been found to be hosts for staphylococci (skin bacteria) demon- strating AMR.
The higher the level of use, the more likely that resistance will develop.
This may include the application of manure or compost from intensive livestock production and human waste systems.
Even sea lions held in captivity carried more than their fair share of AMR E coli.
Though there is an in- creasing body of research that supports the idea that the origins of resistant infections in humans largely lie with human health medical practices, the animal industries have an important role to play in reducing resistance by reducing use wherever possible.
It follows that microor- ganisms and AMR genes may then be re-cycled through soil, ground water, marine water, wild
Seagulls can dissemi- nate AMR bacteria over wide areas and between species.
Similar bugs pop up in people and the pigs and horses they care for.
It is a matter of selection pressure.
These wild animal num- bers are relatively small, but they are cumulative.
They inhabit the same
Ross Cutler
Western Australia pork industry wraps up grant projects
THE Western Australia pork industry has ben- efitted from two Grower Group Research and De- velopment grants worth $600,500 through the state government’s Agri- business Innovation Fund.
national centre for pro- duction of high-quality free range pork – was to evaluate technologies to reduce impacts of summer on sow reproductive per- formance and ensuring consistent supply and quality of free range pork.
revealed that pork RWA occupies a small but growing niche, with prod- ucts in Europe and North America often attracting a premium.
The project took a bold move to install solar-pow- ered air conditioning in farrowing huts to provide a zone of cool air for sows.
While attention to detail is critical, Western Aus- tralia is well placed with high health status in many of its herds.
Vet and Stock Consulting Pty Ltd
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Servicing pig, sheep and beef producers across southern Australia
Providing a range of veterinary herd health and production services including:
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E: enquiries@vetandstock.com.au M: 0459 378 232
Dr Ben Linn DVM BSc MASc
Dr Kat Linn DVM BSc BASc (Hons)
‘Snout cooling’ saw an increased percentage of live born piglets, and sows spending more time with their litters, increasing suckling opportunities.
A study measuring anti- microbial use and resist- ance on a sample of WA farms found that the level of bacteria resistant to antibiotics varied across farms but wasn’t neces- sarily associated with the level of antimicrobial use.
A large-scale com- parison of carcass char- acteristics found carcass weights of free range pigs to be more variable than conventionally raised pigs, and backfat depth less sensitive to changes in live weight.
An evaluation of con- sumers, producers and other stakeholders’ views on pork RWA found that overall knowledge was low in all sectors, how- ever the consumer survey revealed a willingness to pay a premium for pork RWA.
While pork quality was similar, there were subtle but consistent differ- ences in colour and pH, which can improve eating quality of free range pork.
Armed with this knowl- edge, PIWA stands poised to assist the industry in developing an Australian standard for raising pork without antibiotics should there be sufficient de- mand.
The second project – pork raised without anti- biotics (RWA): new op- portunities for Western Australia’s pork industry – looked at the challenges and opportunities for a new niche market in the state.
The Grower Group Re- search and Development grants program awarded almost $11.2 million to 21 grower groups across WA.
Page 8 – Australian Pork Newspaper, August 2020
An international scan
www.porknews.com.au
“With increased global competitiveness and high volumes of imported pork, industry standards for pork RWA will become critical for Australia,” Dr Wilson said.
For further information, contact PIWA Chair Dr Rob Wilson on 0418 486 141 or Executive Officer Ms Emalyn Loudon on 0429 370 289.