Cow disease puts young farmer off owning stock
When Thomas Dwyer’s small herd of bull calves was suspected of carrying Mycoplasma bovis back in August, his initial reaction was one of disbelief.
‘‘MPI [Ministry for Primary Industries] rang me and said it was possible. I didn’t know what M.bovis was. I had no idea at that stage,’’ Dwyer said.
‘‘Basically, they just worked through the chain. There was a farm that had been suspected of having it, and they had transferred cattle to a farm that was suspected of having and then I bought cattle from that person.’’
MPI took blood samples and a nasal swab during tests, Dwyer said. ‘‘Then as a precaution, the animals got destroyed before the results were confirmed. That’s OK, I don’t mind that. I’d like to think we were pretty responsible people. We didn’t argue; we just let them get on with it.’’ The animals were removed for a post mortem, which confirmed they had been exposed to the disease. Whether they were carriers, Dwyer is unsure.
‘‘I was pretty gutted. They were the first purchase my business partner and I had made. We had only been in business for three weeks before we were notified.
‘‘It was the first skin in the game my partner and I had ever had so we were pretty proud of them and they were growing like stink. We really looked after them because we had saved up and they were the first cattle we had had.’’
He said the setback was more psychological than financial.
It had put him off owning stock. He was now under a notice of direction meaning any cattle he had on the property in the future would be subject to ongoing testing. ‘‘Whether you have got 1000 cattle or 10 cattle it’s s... when they have to be destroyed. There is no other word for it.’’
Adding further to the fencing and cartage contractor’s woes, he lost $10,000 worth of tools in a burglary this month.