Animals must pass through the Mickleham Post Entry Quarantine Facility where they undergo isolation and testing for pests and diseases.

The facility hosts all manner of animals from the common to the rare, including a recent drove of seven miniature donkeys.

The miniature donkeys — six females, known as jennies, and a male jack — were imported from the United States by Malakai Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys at Miners Rest, near Ballarat. 

Lee Cale, assistant secretary for biosecurity operations at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, said the donkeys were a delight to house.

"Certainly the staff at the quarantine station very much enjoyed having the donkeys here," she said.

"They are quite miniature, about half the size of a normal donkey."

But on a more serious note, Ms Cale said cuteness factor does not lower the potential threat posed by the donkeys.

"They are very cute. But having said that, they still have the capacity to bring into the country pests and diseases we don't have here and don't want here," she said. 

Stringent import measures

Ms Cale said import requirements varied depending on the type of animal, but donkeys were treated the same as horses.

"So they undergo pre-export quarantine and a series of official government certifications to demonstrate they are free of pests and diseases prior to loading for export," she said.

"When they get here they have to complete 14 days of quarantine, and once that's completed we can release them."

Mickelham has also been chosen as the site for Melbourne's Centre for National Resilience, a 1,000-bed facility for people returning from overseas.

Ms Cale said there were many parallels between quarantine requirements for animals and procedures in place for humans.

"We've been in the animal quarantine game for more than 100 years. Our first legislation was back in 1908 with the Quarantine Act," she said.

"And what we can see is that the same principles apply — whether for animals or humans — those same principles of testing, isolation, and re-testing again as necessary before release into the community.

"They are the foundations of quarantine."

Story By | Angus Verley