The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) has helped bring the Valais Blacknose sheep to Australia through an importation and biosecurity effort.
Head of Biosecurity at DAWE, Andrew Tongue said the breed, dubbed the cutest in the world, was born for the first time in Australia following the successful importation of embryos and semen from the United Kingdom (UK).
Mr Tongue said this was also the first time that Valais Blacknose sheep had reached Australian shores.
“The Valais Blacknose Sheep originated in the Swiss Alps where, for centuries, it was used for meat and wool,” Mr Tongue said
“More recently, the animals’ adorable looks and gentle temperaments have made them popular around the globe and many families are keeping them purely as pets,” he said.
“The breed has now spread to Europe, the UK, and the US, and this year the first Valais reached Australia.”
The Head of Biosecurity said farmers and pet lovers had been interested in getting the Valais Blacknose breed into the country for many years but an Australian importer had succeeded following a request to DAWE to import embryos and semen from the breed.
“The Department liaised with the importer to ensure the genetic material met all of Australia’s strict biosecurity requirements,” he said.
“Sheep genetic material could potentially pose a risk of serious animal diseases such as scrapie, the ovine equivalent of Mad Cow disease.”
Mr Tongue said the importation process took three years and was complicated by Brexit (the UK’s exit from the European Union) and the pandemic.
