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How the devastating mycoplasma bovis was contained

Eradication has proved a success but still too early to claim victory, with a heavy toll on farmers.

WATCH: Former agriculture minister Damien O’Connor speaks with Brent Edwards.

Brent Edwards Tue, 05 Dec 2023
Key points
  • What’s at stake: The mycoplasma bovis outbreak has seen more than 180,000 cattle killed to keep it in check, with just over $250m out of $800m allocated paid in compensation.
  • Background: Government and industry bodies opted to eradicate it, the first time that has been tried anywhere in the world. Only one farm is infected now but surveillance will continue for several years. 
  • Main players: Ministry for Primary Industries, Van Leeuwen Group, Damien O’Connor, Beef+Lamb CEO Sam McIvor, DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel, Ospri Ltd, Animal Health Board, National Animal Identification and Tracing Ltd,  Kelvan Smith, Andrew Hoggard.

In the middle of winter in 2017, the Ministry for Primary Industries’ hotline got a call raising concerns about a dairy farm near Oamaru.

Within days, the presence of mycoplasma bovis (M.bovis) was confirmed by laboratory testing. The day after – July 23 – the farm, which is part of the Van

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Key points
  • What’s at stake: The mycoplasma bovis outbreak has seen more than 180,000 cattle killed to keep it in check, with just over $250m out of $800m allocated paid in compensation.
  • Background: Government and industry bodies opted to eradicate it, the first time that has been tried anywhere in the world. Only one farm is infected now but surveillance will continue for several years. 
  • Main players: Ministry for Primary Industries, Van Leeuwen Group, Damien O’Connor, Beef+Lamb CEO Sam McIvor, DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel, Ospri Ltd, Animal Health Board, National Animal Identification and Tracing Ltd,  Kelvan Smith, Andrew Hoggard.
How the devastating mycoplasma bovis was contained
Politics,
101938
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