New Zealand to cull cows to stop spread of bacteria

New Zealand plans to slaughter more than 150,000 cows to eradicate a disease-causing bacteria threatening cattle in a nation that has long avoided mass outbreaks due to its isolation.

Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, said she empathised with farmers but warned that failing to act could threaten the country’s entire herd. The move follows the discovery last July of a case of Mycoplasma bovis, a bacteria that can cause mastitis, pneumonia, arthritis and other diseases.