New Zealand is one farm away from obliterating mycoplasma bovis disease, a painful cattle disease that plagues the farming industry. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said that only one farm still had to wipe out this cattle disease, but 271 farms have been successful at eradicating it entirely.
Cattle in the US and Europe also contract the infection, which can cause painful conditions such as mastitis, pneumonia, and arthritis. New Zealand is the only country to come close to clearing the infection from its farms. Although the bacteria is not a threat to food safety, it can result in lower milk and beef yields.
The process has been traumatic for farmers. Those with “strong connections, commitment and investment in their animals” were very unhappy, said O’Connor in an interview with Associated Press. However, even healthy animals were culled if the disease was detected on a farm.
Government decided to act quickly to eradicate the infection before it spread. The country’s herd of 10 million cattle includes 6.3 million dairy cows and 4 million beef cattle. That’s double the human population.
New Zealand’s economy is reliant on farming exports, with milk products the country’s largest single export earner. China imports the products for use in infant formula.
The country has stringent biosecurity controls so it is unclear how the disease entered the country. Imported bull semen could have been the carrier.
Once the final farm is disease-free, government will monitor farms nationwide for several more months before government celebrates victory.