A Gunnedah stock agent has been issued with a $1000 infringement in relation to breaches of the Biosecurity Act.
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In late 2018, investigators from the Oxley Rural Crime Prevention Team were notified that cattle were being sold without being properly identified with electronic NLIS tags and there were discrepancies in stock transport records.
After further inquiries it became apparent that the owner, who is employed as a stock and station agent, had signed a declaration that falsely declared the cattle were being transported from a property different from the one from which they were actually transported.
The owner had also failed to update the NLIS database and had falsely signed a national vendor declaration on behalf of a livestock transport company.
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In early January, the man was issued a $1000 infringement notice under section 25(1) Biosecurity Act for the offence of failing to comply with mandatory measures.
He was issued with a warning for the remaining breaches.
A NSW Police Force Rural Crime Prevention Team spokesperson said the team regularly undertook operations focusing on enforcement and education in relation to compliance with NLIS and other biosecurity regulations.
This focus was due to the inherent risks to the cattle industry and the wider economy in the case of disease outbreak, as well as issues with the loss of traceability of livestock in the case of stock theft investigations.
