Pastoralist David Stoate has lived and breathed cattle for two decades.
He runs Anna Plains Station, 250 kilometres south of Broome in WA's Kimberley, where the pastoral sector has been a pillar of the region's economy for more than a century.
But Mr Stoate feared his industry could be under threat as foot-and-mouth disease edged closer to Australia.
"At risk is basically your life's work, your life's saving, superannuation and everything you've worked towards," he said.
He said an incursion would be like a terminal disease.
"So it's a huge concern to the cattle industry and other livestock industries such as sheep and dairy," he said.
Foot-and-mouth disease was detected in Indonesia in May and has since spread to Bali.
A widespread outbreak of the highly contagious disease in Australia could cost $80 billion over a decade if a positive case was detected in Australia.
Concern is also mounting beyond the farm gate about the likely flow-on implications for industries that rely on the livestock and meat industries.
Supply chain worries
Esperance butcher Kaaron Mitchell feared an outbreak would mark the end for her business.
"The same goes for a lot of businesses, supermarkets that can't get that stock and that affects every single animal product from milk, butter, cheese, meat anything animal-based."
Ms Mitchell predicted a significant increase in the cost of red meat in the event of a domestic incursion.
"I'm thinking it will be four, five, six times the price for a steak … you could be paying up to $100 if it's available," she said.
"There's going to be no meat on shelves if it runs rampant."
More than livestock
Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA president David Fyfe said he was worried about the impact of the disease on family-owned trucking businesses and their staff.
He was also concerned about the implications for regional communities.
Thomas Elder Markets commodity insights manager Matt Dalgleish said an outbreak of the disease in the UK in 2001 was evidence of the widespread implications beyond the farm gate.
"In the UK the disposal [of the animals] was via funeral pyre which isn't pleasant, and it had implications for tourism because people didn't want to see piles and piles of dead burning animals," he said.
"For those that are in the stud game and people that spent a lot of time and effort developing genetics in their herd or flock, that's decades worth of work that could go away straight away."
