The Victorian Farmers Foundation have called on travellers to be proactive after the confirmation of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease arriving on the island of Bali.
The Indonesian Government confirmed 63 cases in Bali of the disease over the weekend and have ordered livestock travel restrictions.
President of the VFF Livestock Groups Steve Harrison said proactive steps need to be taken now to avoid the disease heading to Victoria.
"I think action is underway but unfortunately, it's a fast moving disease, so we would like the borders to strengthen more," he said.
"But not only that, travelers who are in these FMD regions now need to be aware of the risks, particularly Bali because of the sheer weight of numbers of tourist there."
Mr Harrison said he personally believed restrictions on travel to Bali should be implemented until Indonesia had completed its cattle vaccination program, but practical measures should begin now.
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"We have to take up those issues with the new Agriculture Minister [Murray Watt], but our second best option right now is to ensure people thoroughly clean their shoes, or even leave them behind at the airport," he said.
"Many Western Australians go to Bali for their holidays, so places like Broome, Perth and Darwin are the biggest threats on where we may see firstly this in our country ... but we need to be proactive and stop this at our borders."
Australian-based international meat analyst Simon Quilty, Global Agritrends, this week reiterated calls for a three-month moratorium on holidays to Bali to allow Australia's cattle industry to better line up its ducks in terms of securing vaccines.
He first made the suggestion six weeks ago and says there are indications the disease is far more widespread in Bali than the 63 cases, and has likely been there for some time.
VFF President Emma Germano said that news of the disease reaching the popular holiday destination is very concerning for farmers and any cloven-hoofed animal will be "at serious risk".
"The risk of tourists unknowingly bringing home Foot and Mouth is very real," Ms Germano said.
"We've kept it out of Australia for over 100 years and we need to do all we can to keep it that way."
Ms Germano said three steps by tourists can be made when returning from Indonesia packing and cleaning at the local laundromat while on holiday, thoroughly cleaning shoes, and avoiding encounters with any livestock
She also called on an increased Commonwealth Government biosecurity safety net, saying it was the best way to prevent the disease coming into the country.
"With flights between Victoria and Bali departing a number of times each day, we can't afford for a disease superhighway to open up between Denpasar and Victoria," Ms Germano said.
The Victorian Coalition opposition have also called on the federal government to step up efforts to inspect tourists arriving from anywhere in Indonesia.
Victorian Shadow Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh said he will be writing to federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt for a guarantee of better protection against the disease.
"Outbreaks have the potential to decimate the industry due to the export market closures, production disruption and significant flow-on social impacts and economic losses for all regional businesses involved in agriculture," Mr Walsh said.
