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About the Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) programme

Find out about the purpose, phases and history of the M. bovis programme.

Purpose of the M. bovis programme

The M. bovis programme aims to:

  • contain and control M. bovis in New Zealand, and ultimately prove confidence that M. bovis is absent in our national cattle herd
  • reduce the impact of the disease and the programme for everyone affected by M. bovis
  • strengthen New Zealand's biosecurity system.

Three phases of the M. bovis programme

The M. bovis programme started in 2018 and is estimated to finish in 2028.

We need to pass through 3 phases to provide confidence that M. bovis is absent in our cattle herd.

  1. 1 Delimiting — in this phase, we identify and remove cases of infection.
  2. 2 Provisional absence — this phase will begin after we resolve all active cases of infection. This is likely to take 2 and a half years of intensive surveillance where no new infected cases are found.
  3. 3 Confidence of absence — in this phase, we will present evidence to the World Organisation for Animal Health and make a case that M. bovis is absent in New Zealand’s cattle herd.

Diagram titled 'Phases of the Mycoplasma bovis programme’. Along the bottom is a horizontal dotted timeline that runs from 2018 to 2028 – the estimated 10-year programme span. Above this are the 3 phases of the programme, from left to right: delimiting, provisional absence and confidence of absence. At the right-hand end, it says statement of absence. A ‘We are here’ label indicates we are nearing the end of the delimiting phase.

History of M. bovis in New Zealand

In July 2017, a vet identified M. bovis for the first time in New Zealand at a property in South Canterbury.

Evidence suggests that the M. bovis found in New Zealand spread from a single case, which probably entered the country in early 2015. We may never know exactly how this happened, but the most likely route is through imported bovine semen. To find out more about this, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and industry partners are running a project to test bovine semen imported into the country before May 2022.

M. bovis imported bovine semen testing project

A new Import Health Standard for bovine germplasm took effect in May 2022, which improved risk management. The risk of M. bovis spreading through imported bovine semen is now considered very low.

Establishing the M. bovis programme

In 2017, MPI took action to contain M. bovis and set up a response under the Biosecurity Act 1993.

In May 2018 — after consultation with industry — MPI, along with DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand, agreed to enter a Government Industry Agreement partnership to jointly manage and share programme costs. They did this because achieving confidence of absence was technically possible. Also, allowing M. bovis to spread would risk animal welfare and cost the farming sector about $1.3 billion in lost productivity in the first 10 years, with continued losses after that. In comparison, the estimated cost of the programme was $870 million over 10 years.

In late 2023, the day-to-day operational and disease control functions of the programme moved from MPI to OSPRI.

In early 2025, the programme framework will change to a National Pest Management Plan (NPMP). An NPMP — the same framework used for bovine TB — allows OSPRI to administer and manage the programme for the remainder of the plan.

M. bovis programme funding structure

M. bovis programme funding is split between government (68%) and industry (32%). Of the industry share (collected through farmer levies)

  • dairy farmers pay 94%
  • beef farmers pay 6%.

The split between dairy and beef farmers reflects the proportionate risks and benefits to each industry.

As the programme will change how it’s administered from 2025, we are working with MPI and industry to write up a new funding agreement.