MPI announces plan to cull ‘M. Bovis’ cows

• Published date: 28 September 2022
• Publication title: Central Rural Life

Stock will need to be reduced on nearby and high-risk farms, it said

Eight farms in the high-risk area will be depopulated; six farms in the at-risk area will undergo increased testing.

In May, the government announced that after working to rid New Zealand of the disease, the feedlot was the only infected property remaining.

But since then two more properties have tested positive.

The Five Star Beef feedlot in Ashburton, owned by ANZCO Foods, farms about 14,000 cattle.

Culling will begin on the feedlot in mid-October and nearby farms must be ‘‘depopulated’’ by mid-January, MPI said.

The M. bovis bacteria affects cows but has no impact on human health. The disease can also get into the udder, and cows can pass it on to calves through their milk.

In calves, it can cause pneumonia and is difficult to treat, while in fully-grown animals it can cause mastitis and arthritis.

M. bovis was first found on a farm in south Canterbury in 2017 but was spreading on farms before that.

The Ministry for Primary Industries believes it may have arrived in the country in late 2015 or 2016.

The transmission route between farms was ‘‘unclear’’ so MPI needed to take a different...