7550 dairy cows with M Bovis disease killed
Ministry officials are a third of the way through the culling of 22,300 dairy cows in a bid to control the spread of the disease Mycoplasma bovis.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) response incident controller Catherine Duthie said 7550 cows and other dairy stock had been culled so far since March.
Most of the culling was likely to be completed by the end of May. ‘‘It may, however, not be completed on some properties until June or July as we are working to accommodate the circumstances of the individuals impacted by the cull.’’
Some of the first farms to be cleared of animals may be able to restock them from the last week in May, enabling them to potentially have a replacement milking herd for the start of the 2018-19 season.
‘‘The few farms that are not completed by the end of May will be because a slight delay works best for the farmers concerned. All infected properties are under quarantine lockdown while the cull is taking place.’’
MPI figures show 32 farms are infected with M. bovis, which can cause lameness, mastitis and abortions in cows. MPI said all farms are linked to the original infected properties because of animal movements and have been caused by close animal contact. An additional 4000 cows were killed in an earlier cull late last year.
Farms can only be restocked once a 60-day stand-down period had passed. ‘‘There are some exceptions such as if effluent has been applied to pasture. If this has occurred, the farm must be free of stock for 60 days after the last application of effluent. So, taking this into account, some farms that were first to have cattle culled will be able to restock from approximately the last week in May,’’ said Duthie.