Mycoplasma bovis eradication efforts reach two year milestone

May 26, 2020

Those on the frontline say it is about time the Ministry for Primary Industries cracked down.

Two years on now, Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says eradicating Mycoplasma bovis shows New Zealand is able to do what others countries have not in terms of disease eradication efforts.

It has been two years since the Government, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand and industry partners committed to a 10-year, $880 million programme to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis.

"Had we thrown up our hands and said 'it’s too hard' and left this disease to run rampant, I’m not sure our dairy and beef sectors would have been able to weather the economic storm of Covid-19 and the challenges of drought conditions as well as they have," Mr O'Connor said in a statement today.

"As we have with our response to Covid-19, this Government showed leadership, made a tough decision and have managed this eradication effort with discipline and focus because we knew we were doing it for the economic and social good of the country.

"We’ve also shown, again, that we're able to do what others countries have not in terms of disease eradication efforts. That's something our farming community should be really proud of. I'm certainly very proud of them," he said.

In New Zealand there are currently 17 active properties and 232 that have been cleared of the disease. In total, 154,788 cattle have been culled.

The official moving day – Gypsy Day – is June 1.

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