Click to Translate to English Click to Translate to French  Click to Translate to Spanish  Click to Translate to German  Click to Translate to Italian  Click to Translate to Japanese  Click to Translate to Chinese Simplified  Click to Translate to Korean  Click to Translate to Arabic  Click to Translate to Russian  Click to Translate to Portuguese  Click to Translate to Myanmar (Burmese)

PANDEMIC ALERT LEVEL
123456
Forum Home Forum Home > Main Forums > General Discussion
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - New Zealand: Cull for Mycoplasma Bovis Control
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Now tracking the new emerging South Africa Omicron Variant

New Zealand: Cull for Mycoplasma Bovis Control

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
Technophobe View Drop Down
Assistant Admin
Assistant Admin
Avatar

Joined: January 16 2014
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 88450
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: New Zealand: Cull for Mycoplasma Bovis Control
    Posted: October 12 2017 at 9:49am

MPI to slaughter 4000 cattle to stop spread of disease Mycoplasma

Officials believe they can stop the disease spreading.

About 4000 cattle worth up to $8 million will be slaughtered to halt the spread of the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis.

​The Ministry for Primary Industries said it hoped to minimise the risk of the disease spreading from the seven known farms where it has been detected. 

Five properties are owned by rich lister couple Aad and Wilma van Leeuwen, and are located in the South Canterbury/North Otago region. A small number of cattle on the other two farms, which included a lifestyle block in Rangiora, had already been culled. 


Mycoplasma is common globally in cattle but was discovered for the first time in New Zealand in July, prompting thousands of tests and raising questions about how it came into the country, which have not yet been answered.

READ MORE:
Cattle disease strikes another Van Leeuwen farm
Cow disease spreads north to Rangiora as six properties now infected

MPI said the affected farmers can apply for compensation for verifiable losses relating to MPI exercising legal powers under the Biosecurity Act.

Some of the farmers are sharemilkers working on Van Leeuwen farms, among them immigrants. MPI said it did not know exactly how many were affected but that they were being looked after and able to access welfare benefits if needed. 

The move was welcomed by Federated Farmers, DairyNZ and Beef+Lamb NZ.

Labour Primary Industries spokesman Damien O'Connor attacked the National Government over its slow response.

"It was inevitable and arguably too late, but political considerations overruled biosecurity. The image of cows being slaughtered just before the election was something National didn't want to be seen," O'Connor said.

Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said the decision to destroy the stock was the only option which would ensure peace of mind for the rest of New Zealand's dairy and beef farmers. 

"We recognise the disease has come at a significant emotional cost to the affected farming families and their animals. The process of culling whole herds will be very stressful for the people concerned."

MPI's director of response, Geoff Gwyn said since late July it had carried out tens of thousands of tests of the infected, neighbouring and trace properties as well as district-wide testing in Waimate and Waitaki, and nationwide testing of bulk milk.

"The only positive results for the disease have been on seven infected properties, leading us to be cautiously optimistic that we are dealing with a very localised area of infection around Oamaru," Gwyn said.

The operation to slaughter the 4000 cattle would not happen immediately and would be a "big logistical exercise". The farms would then be de-contaminated and "re-populated".

The precise value of the cattle is difficult to determine because they are a mixture of dairy cows (worth over $2000 each), bulls, heifers and calves. 

Gwyn raised the possibility that more cattle might have to be killed if further tests revealed more infection on other Van Leeuwen farms. 

"Currently there is no need to remove animals from other farms in the Van Leeuwen group that are under restrictions. Testing of animals on those farms continues and should infection be found, they will be subject to the same measures."

All premises, transportation vehicles and equipment involved in culling would follow a strict decontamination and disinfection protocol to mitigate the risk of spreading the disease.

Once de-population is completed, there will be at least a 60-day stand-down period where no cattle will be permitted on the farms. During this time the infected properties will be cleaned and disinfected.


Source:   https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/97823873/mpi-to-slaughter-4000-cattle-to-stop-spread-of-disease-mycoplasma

How do you tell if a politician is lying?
His lips or pen are moving.
Back to Top
KiwiMum View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: May 29 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 29640
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote KiwiMum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 13 2017 at 10:20pm
It's very worrying. We keep 2 milking cows and a beef steer and there's a case of this disease about 30km from us. We're due to have the vet here in a months time, and then an AI technician, both of whom are constantly visiting other farms. 

I'm very concerned that they could have infected mud on their car wheels or their gumboots and so will be having a conversation about that with them before they come onto our property. 

There is no cure for this disease and the only option is to slaughter. We're very lucky as none of our neighbours have cattle, they all have horses and sheep, so at the moment we feel safe, but I'm feeling anxious about the visitors. 
Those who got it wrong, for whatever reason, may feel defensive and retrench into a position that doesn’t accord with the facts.
Back to Top
KiwiMum View Drop Down
Moderator
Moderator
Avatar

Joined: May 29 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 29640
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote KiwiMum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 13 2017 at 10:22pm
Having written that, I've just had a great idea. We'll make the vets park by our house rather than drive up to the cowshed, and then, when they get out, I'll ask them to remove their gum boots and use some of our spare gumboots to walk up to the cows. So long as their equipment is sterilized, I'm sure that will massively reduce the risk of infection. 

Those who got it wrong, for whatever reason, may feel defensive and retrench into a position that doesn’t accord with the facts.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down