The risk of the devastating foot and mouth livestock disease entering Australia is so great Agriculture Minister Murray Watt cannot rule out mandatory border checks on every tourist returning from Indonesia, as he pleads with travellers to play their part in stopping a biosecurity outbreak.

An outbreak on Indonesia’s main island of Java has spread to the popular tourist island of Bali, which is visited by more than 1 million Australians a year, ramping up the risk of a first-ever outbreak down under.

The National Farmers Federation is calling for mandatory biosecurity checks of every passenger coming off flights from Indonesia amid a foot and mouth outbreak in Bali.

Sheep farmer Chris Groves, chair of the National Farmers Federation’s farming systems committee, said if the outbreak in Bali spread to Australia it could wipe out Australia’s $80 billion livestock industry.

“If this disease gets here, it’s going to be a tragic set of circumstances for our industry,” he told Liam Bartlett on 6PR Mornings.

“We need more people on the ground so that anyone who gets off a plane from Indonesia, is inspected, is talked to and their luggage is opened up and checked.”

Tap PLAY to hear the consequences of an outbreak in Australia