Continual war on bovine TB

Bovine tuberculosis is at its lowest level in Marlborough in years, with just one infected herd in the region. This is down from about 35 in the mid-1980s. TB Free Marlborough committee chairman Chris Bowron said the Animal Health Board had carried out extensive poisoning and trapping operations in Marlborough and throughout NZ to stop the spread of the disease, as part of its Bovine TB Strategy. "It's very satisfying to see the numbers reduce so well. It's an indication of how the TB scheme has worked for us, and it gives us confidence that we can eliminate it all." Of 1200 herds in Marlborough, only Molesworth Station remained infected reports The Marlborough Express. However, the disease could still be found in vectors (animals that carry the disease, such as possums and ferrets) at the top of the Waihopai Valley, Mr Bowron said. Nearly $82 million is spent each year on controlling TB, which mainly affects the lungs of animals, causing wasting and death. It is fuelled by a high possum and ferret population and primarily affects cattle, dairy cows and deer. There are 129 infected herds in NZ, about 0.03 per cent of all herds. Silver Fern Farms systems auditor Gordon Mounsey said TB infection on a property could affect the returns a farmer received for animals. Some foreign markets, such as Russia, would not accept animals from TB-infected herds. Infected animals, depending on the severity, would be either condemned or sold on the local market, he said. Board spokesman John Deal said people shouldn't worry about catching TB from eating meat from an infected animal. The disease was not generally found in the parts of an animal commonly consumed, and was usually isolated to their lymph nodes. The Bovine TB strategy, which aims to have no more than 0.2 per cent, or 80 herds, infected by 2013, is under review. Agriculture Minister David Carter said farmers' submissions were being evaluated and the review would be completed by late September.