Blood and bone ban possible

Livestock farmers may be stopped from using fertilisers such as blood and bone because of concerns about mad cow disease.

Some officials fear the use of ground-up sheep and cattle to fertilise pastures grazed by other sheep and cattle could be an avenue for spreading the disease if it were to occur in New Zealand livestock.

A European Union report which gave New Zealand a clean bill of health pointed out that the nation depended heavily on avoiding entry of the disease in the first place and must avoid importing or feeding to cattle anything that might contain it.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officials commented yesterday that they were seriously considering the risk of blood and bone.

- NZPA

Herald Online feature: Foot-and-mouth disaster

World organisation for animal health

UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Pig Health/Foot and Mouth feature

Virus databases online