Eradication or management? Decision due today on Mycoplasma bovis plan

May 28, 2018

D-Day for Government decision on M bovis action plan

The government will today announce their decision on the national plan for the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak which has so far affected 38 farms.

Jamie Mackay says the government is likely to keep up the fight against the disease, because they have come so far already.

The decision will be made during a Cabinet meeting and is being made by the government, rather than by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

The disease, which causes serious health issues for cows but no issues for humans, was first discovered on an Oamaru farm last year and is present in most other countries.

No country has ever attempted to eradicate M. bovis, and the government will decide today between continuing with attempts to fight it, or switching to long-term management and containment.

The Waikato meeting was held just days before the Government announces its decision on a plan for Mycoplasma bovis.

It will also likely announce a timeline for the response and an estimated budget.

Of the 38 farms where culling has taken place, only one - the van Leeuwen operation in Oamaru - has actually had an officially recognised outbreak, with the rest linked by the MPI to that farm through stock tracking systems.

More than 22,000 cattle have now been culled, the majority having no symptoms of M. bovis.

Gary and Lynda Burgess say killing the cows on the same day a decision might be made on how to manage the cow disease is barbaric.

Frank Peters struggled to contain his emotions as he talked about sending 670 cows to their deaths as the Mycoplasma bovis disease spreads.

The disease is considered to be an animal welfare and productivity issue, rather than a food safety issue, and both meat and milk from infected cows is safe for human consumption.

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