Editorial: M. bovis relief

The country remains on track to eradicate the disease, first confirmed in our country in 2018.

The Ministry for Primary Industries expects all current confirmed properties are likely to be cleared within the first half of this year.

While the job is far from over, it notes that we are as close to moving to the next phase of the eradication as we have ever been.

And this is due to the collective effort from farmers, industry and programme staff.

The Mycoplasma bovis Eradication Programme began in May 2018 and is jointly funded by Government (68%) and DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand (32%). Just over 3 million tests have been completed, $234 million has been paid out in 2838 claims and 180,872 cows have been culled.

The latest review was ordered by MPI, DairyNZ and Beef & Lamb New Zealand in mid-2022 after it became apparent infection was circulating in a small geographical area in South Canterbury despite the use of disease control measures.

The outbreak centres carried out by epidemiologist Dr John Happold, looked at the large ANZCO Fivestar Feedlot, which can house 19,000 cattle at any one time.

In May last year, the feedlot was the last remaining property with M bovis, but more properties began to test positive, resulting in MPI putting a controlled area notice (CAN) around the feedlot and nearby farms.

The high-risk area – CAN- is now free of cattle and the CAN is on track to be lifted in mid-March. MPI expects all current confirmed properties are likely to be cleared within the first half of this year.

Happold was not able to determine the transmission routes occurring in Wakanui with any certainty, and it’s possible these may never be known.

However, MPI points out that eradication is not dependent on knowing the transmission route. What is important is removing the infection from the area which is exactly what the MPI is doing.

Going forward, the M.bovis programme is likely to be run by Ospri. Public consultation on this is proposed to take place in late 2023.

Ospri manages the TBfree programme (to eradicate bovine tuberculosis) and the National Animal Identification and Trading (NAIT) programme. The NAIT system provides key information on the location and movement of cattle for both the M. bovis and TBfree programmes.