Compo for infected cattle and properties

THE Ministry for Primary Industries says it is committed to helping farmers with cattle affected by Mycoplasma bovis receive their compensation and is working hard to process all current claims.

MPI director of response Geoff Gwyn said the MPI had not yet received compensation claims relating to its decision to direct the cull of 22,000 cattle on infected properties, announced last month.

“We are aware some farmers are nervous about compensation time frames and I would like to provide reassurance that we are running as fast and efficient a process as possible,” he said.

Mr Gwyn said the MPI would consider making partpayments to farmers of infected properties who were being required to cull their entire herd.

“We are pulling out all stops to process existing claims and are nearly halfway through these by value of the claims.

“We are significantly increasing staffing in our compensation team to ensure we can work at pace when the claims for the 22,000 culled animals start coming through.

“We understand that while there was some relief at the direction to depopulate IPs, some farmers will worry about how long the compensation process could take.

“It can be a complex and time-consuming process.

“We’d like to reassure farmers that we are doing everything we can to help them get back on their feet as soon as possible, while taking every step necessary to fairly administrate the compensation scheme.”

The MPI has received 85 claims since the beginning of the response.

The currently assessed values of all existing claims is almost $6 million. The MPI has paid out $2.5 million in compensation, with a further $1.5 million expected to be paid within the next fortnight.

The remaining claims will be settled as quickly as possible.