Fourth property infested with ‘M. bovis’

ASHBURTON: A fourth property in the Wakanui area of MidCanterbury has been confirmed to have Mycoplasma bovis, Biosecurity NZ says.

The property is inside an imposed redzone for properties near the infected Anzco feedlot in Ashburton, which farms around 10,000 cattle.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) last week announced it would be culling cattle at the feedlot and at another eight farms in the highrisk area surrounding it, in a bid to eradicate the disease.

Culling would begin on the feedlot in midOctober and nearby farms must be ‘‘depopulated’’ by midJanuary, MPI said.

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 another three properties have been confirmed to be infected.

M. bovis programme director Simon

Andrew said the latest property was in the highrisk area around the feedlot — the area ringfenced for animals to be culled.

‘‘We are also undertaking testing on another property in the area which is likely to be confirmed infected in the coming weeks.

‘‘After everyone’s hard work and the 272 farmers who have had to cull their cattle, we are intensifying our efforts to find any possible infection.

‘‘It’s crucial we protect the investment made to date.

‘‘We have four confirmed properties in MidCanterbury at present — the only area in the country with infection.

‘‘This compares to about 40 nationwide at the height of M. bovis.’’

Mr Andrew said bulk milk testing had not found anything unexpected in the past few months — August this year was set to be the first August since 2018 without infected milk.

A controlled area notice imposed around the Anzco feedlot will come into force on 13 October.

‘‘While the area is already under tight controls, and farms with known infection or suspected infection are under movement restriction, the Can provides an extra layer of protection for farmers outside of the boundary by restricting animal movements out of the area.

‘‘We are intensifying our efforts to get to the tail end of the disease faster, which means farmers can expect to see more testing and more investigation into areas where there is residual risk — such as any possible transmission routes.

‘‘It’s also more important than ever that farmers continue to keep accurate Nait [National Animal Identification and Tracing] records, as well as details of onfarm activity.

‘‘Tracing animal movements remains our best tool to quickly track the movements of infected animals, or animals at risk of infection.’’ — RNZ