Cattle disease hits Wairarapa
Wairarapa is the latest region hit by the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis.
All the cattle on a sheep and beef farm near Masterton will be slaughtered, as part of the Government’s programme to eradicate the disease.
Up until now, the closest M bovis has come to Wairarapa is on Landcorp’s Rangedale Station near Pahiatua, which is in the Tararua district.
The Government announced last month that 152,000 cattle would be culled nationwide, mostly over the next two years, at a cost of $886 million.
Biosecurity New Zealand released few details of the latest detection, other than to say the disease was located through the tracing of animal movements from other affected farms. It did not say how many cattle would be destroyed.
It has always maintained it cannot release the names of farmers affected because the Privacy Act will not allow it to.
This new property brings the total number of infected properties nationwide to 36.
Stock on a number of farms have already been destroyed.
So far it has been detected in Canterbury, South Canterbury, North Otago, Southland, Tararua, Waikato, and Hawke’s Bay.
Biosecurity New Zealand said it expected to find further infected properties as the extensive tracing of animal movements continues.
Federated Farmers Wairarapa president William Beetham said he knew no more than what MPI had announced.
Asked if the disease might have been brought on to the farm through importing dairy grazers, he said there was nothing to make the assumption.
‘‘The key thing is we hope it doesn’t spread throughout the region, farmers should ensure they maintain biosecurity on their properties,’’ Beetham said.
Mycoplasma is widespread in dairy countries.