Molesworth still fighting bovine TB

The announcement of the clearance of bovine TB from Molesworth Station’s herd has sadly been short-lived.

While reaching that milestone was encouraging, the herd remained under TBfree programme surveillance with livestock movement restrictions still in place.

Unfortunately ongoing surveillance testing has confirmed one infected three-year-old animal and testing is now underway for the rest of the mob.

It is disappointing, but not surprising, OSPRI chief executive Sam McIvor says.

"This is a tough and tricky disease we are fighting.

"OSPRI had further work to do before we could say the disease cycle had been broken in the local wildlife, which is the key to eradication of TB. This infection suggests we haven’t won that battle yet," Sam says.

The detection is also a huge disappointment for all those who have been working hard for many years to eradicate the issue from Molesworth Station.

Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie says this demonstrates the massive challenge of continuing to manage pests and weeds across such a vast and remote landscape.

"Our team is fully committed to the goal of bovine TB eradication at Molesworth Station, and we will continue to work closely with OSPRI to get this done.

"It’s about staying vigilant and maintaining biosecurity best practices, not just in the high country, but in many parts of New Zealand."