You may have heard that AsureQuality has decided to not renew their contract for on-farm TB testing services. OSPRI would like to assure farmers that livestock TB testing will continue and remains an indispensable part of the TBfree programme.
Both organisations are working together closely to ensure a smooth transition during this period, ensuring minimal disruption to the TB testing process and farmers.
On-farm testing will continue to provide information about the TB status of New Zealand herds, however there will be a reduction in some lower risk areas over the next 6 months.
Whether or not you experience a change in TB testing depends on where your herd is.
We divide New Zealand up into 4 types of ‘disease control areas’ and how we operate in each (including TB testing) is driven by the risk of disease from wildlife. If you don’t know which type of disease control area your property sits in, you can reference the page below.
No change
If you’re in a Movement Control Area (MCA) or an Annual Special Testing Area, then you shouldn’t experience any change to routine testing. We’ll continue pre-movement testing too.
Reduced testing
TB testing in Biennial Special Testing Areas, will drop to around a third of past levels and we’ll prioritise some specific districts or herd types (based on current disease risk).
We will stop testing in Surveillance Areas, except where we there are infected herds or herds with a C1 status (previously infected, with one year clear).
You can refer to the map below for more information.
