Concern around moving cattle
AS ‘‘Gypsy Day’’ rolls around, some farmers are worried about moving cattle amid the
Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.
A North Otago transport company has expressed concern that the location of infected properties was not being revealed.
A Ministry for Primary Industries spokesman said The Privacy Act 1993 prevented it from publicly disclosing that information.
‘‘It is up to the farmer to advise whomever they need to, and this may include transporters.’’
Road Users Forum chief executive Ken Shirley said a newsletter had been sent out to keep the transport industry informed about Mycoplasma bovis.
The forum had been working closely with the ministry and meat companies, he said. Livestock to be culled from infected farms would be taken by approved transporters to known processing locations.
The upcoming cattle movements for dairy changeover day and to wintergrazing properties should not be a problem, Mr Shirley said.
‘‘I am confident the affected farms and road transport operators will have knowledge of the sites concerned.’’
The ministry said it was ‘‘absolutely safe’’ for truckdrivers and tradespeople to move from infected farms to other properties.
The protocols at the controlled sites meant vehicles posed ‘‘a negligible biosecurity risk’’.
‘‘All vehicles are being cleaned and disinfected on leaving the properties. Vehicles carrying animals — for example, transporters to the meatprocessing premises — are disinfecting on exit, going directly to the meatprocessor (not to other farms) and then being thoroughly cleaned and disinfected at the plant on completing the job.’’
Vehicles from neighbouring farms did not have to be cleaned, because the ministry considered the risk to be ‘‘very small’’. If that changed, it would notify farmers, it said.
If farmers intended to walk their cattle along roads to new destinations, it would be courteous to inform landowners along the route of their plans. Those farmers could then choose whether to install buffer fences or to have their own cattle on paddocks away from the roadsides at the appropriate time.
DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand have developed biosecurity guidelines for graziers, available through both organisations’ websites. They include sections on farm boundaries and gates, yards, machinery, feeders and troughs, lanes, sick or injured stock, visitors to the farm, and the farm team.
An interactive tool on the DairyNZ website allows farmers to click on ‘‘hotspots’’ to find a list of risks and solutions for each aspect of the farming operation. Go to https://www.dairynz.co.nz/ environment/biosecurityongrazingproperties