DairyNZ's role
DairyNZ is the majority industry investor in TBfree’s national TB control programme and this is the single largest investment from the milksolids levy.
Bovine TB National Pest Management Plan (TB plan)
TBfree (formerly Animal Health Board) manages the National Pest Management Plan for Bovine TB which aims to:
1. Eradicate TB from New Zealand by meeting the objectives:
- TB freedom from cattle and deer herds by 2026
- TB freedom from possums by 2040
- Biological eradication by 2055.
2. Maintain period prevalence below 0.2%.
TBfree New Zealand controls the disease through:
- Pest management (possums mainly, but also ferrets, wild pigs and deer)
- Disease control (testing cattle and deer, and post-mortem surveillance at slaughter)
- Movement restrictions (applied to cattle and deer from some herds and locations).
The risk-based approach to TB control
To achieve the goal of eradication of TB from New Zealand, the TBfree programme is introducing new ways of running the TB testing and pest control programmes, based on risk. The changes, outlined below, will be phased in over time.