Media release
7 March 2012

Effective TB control leads to less testing for Waikato herds

More than 1850 cattle and deer herds have benefited from a reduction in bovine tuberculosis (TB) testing in Waikato and King Country.

Several areas have had their testing regimes changed, as the Animal Health Board (AHB) moves ahead with its revised TB control strategy to eventually rid New Zealand of the disease

“The focus now is on eradicating TB from wildlife to prevent re-infection of cattle and deer, leading to even less testing for farmers in the future ,” said Frank Pavitt, AHB Northern North Island Regional Co-ordinator.

Over the next 15 years, the revised national TB control strategy aims to eradicate the disease from wildlife in a quarter of the 10 million hectares of New Zealand known to contain infected wild animals.

H erdowners will be notified when their next test is due, or can visit www.tbfree.org.nz/dcamap to check if they have been affected by the changes.

“A strong focus on wildlife control and disease management has allowed this change in testing policies to occur,” said Mr Pavitt.

“It will come as excellent news to Waikato and King Country herdowners’ affected by the changes. It also shows the progress made by the TBfree New Zealand programme over the past decade.”

However, while TB is still present in wildlife populations, the risk of herd re-infection remains.

“The disease is known to be present in wild animals across 40 per cent of the country, where possums are the main source of TB in livestock,” said Mr Pavitt.

“Stock movements into Waikato and King Country from these high TB risk areas still pose a genuine threat to cattle and deer herds.”

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