All 22,000 cattle on properties
58 MAY 2018
infected with the cattle disease
Mycoplasma bovis will
be culled, the Ministry for
Primary Industries has confirmed. “The
depopulation of entire herds on all 28
infected properties in New Zealand is
a critical measure to control the spread
of the disease and we will be working
closely with those farmers to plan how
this will happen,” says MPI’s response
director Geoff Gwyn. “This will be a
big job and won’t happen overnight,
but we’ll be meeting with the affected
farmers to discuss the operation, develop
the plans and talk through compensation.”
All affected farmers will be
compensated for their verifiable losses,
and once farms are depopulated, the rebuilding
of disease-free herds will begin,
Gywn says. MPI believes the disease
is not well established in New Zealand,
obvious after 113,000 tests. “The testing
of milk from every dairy farm in New
Zealand is very well advanced and to
date has only identified one new infected
property,” Gywn says. “This, combined
with MPI’s extensive surveillance
work tracing every possible movement
of animals from infected farms, gives
us the confidence to say the disease
is not widespread, but is limited to a
network of farms connected by animal
movements. Culling these animals is
now the appropriate action.” Gywn
says the focus is on the resilience of
our dairy and beef industries, which
are such significant contributors to our
economy, and on farmer well-being and
the welfare of animals. “Whatever option
is taken, we will need to see some
big changes in on-farm biosecurity and
NAIT compliance. There remains a big
job to do around this disease, and there
is no quick exit from this situation.”
There is critical work being done to
model the potential spread of Mycoplasma
bovis under different scenarios and
in understanding the costs and benefits
of decisions around eradication. “People
will say ‘why haven’t you done this
already’. In fact we have been working
on this since the disease was detected
and we depopulated seven farms in
December,” Gywn says. “We halted
further culling until we better understood
the spread of the disease. We
now believe the disease is not endemic
and we can complete this analysis and
planning, but we will take care and time
to get it right because decisions about
the future management of this disease
are too important to rush.” Agriculture
and Biosecurity minister Damien
O’Connor says it is a wake-up call for
everyone at every level in the dairy and
livestock industry. “The potential cost
to the industry either way - that is in
controlling this or eradicating - is in the
hundred of millions of dollars. What
we’ve got to do is try and prevent this
happening again and get onto it more
quickly,” he says. “Nobody wants to
see a cull of this scale happen again.”
NO ONE WANTS TO
SEE THIS AGAIN
ERADICATING MYCOPLASMA
Despite clear links between infected properties,
the extent of the infection, complexity of diagnostic
tests, and deficiencies in record-keeping
around animal movements will make the task of
eradicating Mycoplasma bovis difficult and expensive,
a technical advisory group (TAG) has warned.
Three reports by TAG into the Ministry for Primary
Industries’ response and pinpointing potential
entry routes to New Zealand says while MPI has
responded well to date, eradication of the disease
remains technically possible but will be difficult,
time-consuming and costly to achieve. The TAG
says eradication will become more difficult the
longer the disease can spread undetected, and
with the scale of tracing required and the failure
to fully track animal movements, that will be difficult.
MPI’s director of response Geoff Gwyn says
forming a TAG gives an independent perspective
on what has happened and how MPI should
proceed. “In this case, the group has found the
significant work undertaken by MPI and industry
to understand the disease and limit its spread
meets internationally-recognised standards,” he
says. “The report also suggests enhancements to
our work programme that could be made as the
response continues. This is the purpose of the
report and most of the recommendations have
been actioned.” Gwyn says a range of options
remain for consideration before a final decision
can be made. “The TAG’s advice will help us as
we consider whether to proceed with eradication
or pursue other options for managing the disease
in the longer-term,” he says. “There is critical
work being done to model the potential spread
of Mycoplasma bovis under different scenarios
and in understanding the costs and benefits of decisions
around eradication. We are confident the
disease is not well established in New Zealand
and we now need to complete our analysis and
planning.” Gwyn says the decision taken late last
month to depopulate infected farms will reduce
disease pressure and aid eradication or a move
to long-term management when that decision
is made. “We are taking the appropriate time to
reach the right decision. There is much to consider,
including the cost benefits and the effects on
farmers and their families and on animal welfare.
We all want to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis – but
it has to be technically possible, practically achievable
and affordable for everyone.” The TAG will
be reconvened for the third time in the next few
weeks to discuss next steps.
It is believed
Mycoplasma bovis
has entered New
Zealand by seven
potential routes:
• Imported live
cattle
• Other imported
animals
• Imported frozen
semen
• Imported embryos
• Imported
veterinary
medicines
and biological
products
• Imported feed
• Imported used
farm equipment.
Further information
is at: https://tinyurl.
com/ybhljvlb