Delight as cattle turn up for Hastings A & P show, despite Mycoplasma bovis spread

Hawke's Bay A&P Society president Simon Collin checks out the cattle on display. Photo / Warren Buckland

Cattle-rearers from all over New Zealand have flocked to this year's A and P Show cattle events, justifying months of painstaking preparations to eliminate any risk of spreading the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis.

While most A and P shows around the country cancelled bovine events this year after outbreaks of the disease, Hawke's Bay A and P Society general manager Sally Jackson said the retention of bovine events at this year's show had been well-received.

"Everything's going really well. We have MPI representatives on-site and they have been really impressed with the protocol we have in place.

"The best thing about it all is that the exhibitors are really, really happy that we have a cattle section and people are travelling from across New Zealand to attend the show. We have an 11-year-old exhibitor who is overjoyed to bring her dairy cows in, so it has just been really worthwhile to persevere with this particular section at the show."

Earlier this year two Hastings farming operations were quarantined for a time after M. bovis was discovered in infected cattle.

However, precautions were in place at the A and P show this year to ensure cattle would not spread the disease any further.

Animals without a NAIT tag would be denied entry to the show and any non-compliance reported to MPI.

Other precautionary measures included ensuring stalls were cleaned out both before cattle were put in them, and after cattle were removed.

Hand sanitiser would also be provided for anyone likely to be handling the heads of animals from different owners.

Mycoplasma bovis is a bacterial disease that affects only cattle. It is spread through close and prolonged contact between cattle; and calves drinking milk from infected cows.

MPI guidance states while the risk of Mycoplasma bovis spreading at A and P shows, and other events where cattle were present, was quite low, there was still a risk wherever cattle might mingle.