93% of farm livestock is tagged, but that is not good enough in the event of an outbreak of foot & mouth disease. It is not a regulatory imposition, it is a key defence to allow the farming industry to recover quickly

When the National Animal Identification and Tracing Act was passed in 2012, requiring mandatory tagging of all cattle and deer before leaving their farm of origin, it felt like the end of a long and tortuous journey. In reality it was just the beginning of what is now seen as an absolutely crucial plank in New Zealand’s ability to continue to supply the world with high quality, disease free agricultural produce.

The arrival of Foot and Mouth Disease in Bali has emphasised the urgent need to ensure our traceability system is fit for purpose, although M. bovis has already provided a very good training run, resulting in a dramatic improvement in compliance. However, during the 10 years since NAIT’s introduction, there have been plenty of farmer complaints about problems with the system, whether recording tag numbers, obtaining answers to questions or even getting the central database to reconcile with actual stock counts on farm. The absence of mandatory traceability for sheep and lambs has also been a glaring gap, particularly from the perspective of FMD which does not distinguish between different cloven hoofed species.

Since 2017 the percentage of tagged animals being registered before their first movement off farm has increased from 57% to 93% as of 30 June 2022. Clearly this is a massive improvement, but not good enough in the event of an outbreak of FMD. MPI advises there have been 5092 NAIT infringements since 2019 – animals tagged and not registered online or received on farm, but not checked for registration – and 43 prosecutions before the courts. MPI also notes the requirement for the number of non-NAIT animals on farm including sheep, goats and pigs to be declared by 31 July each year.

Kevin Forward, head of traceability at OSPRI, contracted service provider to NAIT, notes the enormous improvement in compliance at the time of the M. bovis outbreak, but has observed something of a slide back into complacency more recently. There are still thousands of unregistered animal movements every week and only 55% of movements recorded within the required 48 hour period. This would be a major problem with a fast-moving disease like FMD when stock movements would have to be traced inside a maximum of three days.

According to Forward many farmers still view NAIT compliance as a regulatory imposition, whereas it ought to be seen as an essential part of protecting their farm and livelihood. NAIT has copped a fair amount of criticism since its introduction, not all of it justified, and one major advantage compared with Australia is its design capability to identify animal movements quickly, as would be essential in a fast-moving disease outbreak like FMD. M. bovis and TB are slow-moving diseases which pose a far slower transmission threat.

In an FMD outbreak MPI would declare a national livestock standstill, similar to a Covid-19 lockdown, as quickly as possible which would make the recording of all recent animal movements critical to the programme. All livestock movements already underway must proceed directly to their destination where the vehicle must remain until disinfected under MPI direction, while transport logs must be collated by the operator and made available to MPI within 24 hours of the movement.

These measures underline the critical importance of an efficient traceability system with 100% compliance by all participants. 93% registration, still less 55% within the 48 hour time limit, won’t cut it in an FMD emergency, but it is regrettable the NAIT system has taken so long to move on from its clunky start which has delayed moves to accommodate sheep for traceability purposes.

Under the present system all sheep movements would be monitored by Animal Status Declarations which are increasingly lodged electronically. Sheep farmers are being encouraged to sign up to the new online portal MyOSPRI to send their eASDs for farm-to-farm and farm-to-processor movements of sheep mobs. This is seen as a more efficient and cost-effective method of tracing sheep than individual tagging.

Forward says speedy uptake of MyOSPRI will benefit all farmers, not just sheep farmers, because of its ease of use and cites the experience of a Southland farmer who struggled with the NAIT system, then was shown how easy it was to complete the eASD electronically. Over the next 12 months all NAIT functionality is being rebuilt in MyOSPRI which will enable farmers not only to enter all livestock traceability information through the portal, but will also interface seamlessly with other management programmes once agreement is reached, such as LIC Minda, CRV Ambreed’s MyHerd and FarmIQ. Multiple entry will be a thing of the past.

According to Stuart Anderson, Deputy Director General, Biosecurity New Zealand, in the event of an outbreak of FMD all dairy, red meat and pork exports would stop, all shipments within the previous 28 days would have to be recalled and a National Biosecurity Emergency declared. A national livestock standstill would remain in place until all FMD infection has been traced, at which point the country could move to a lockdown targeting specific areas where the infection is present or suspected. Modelling and experience suggest a resumption of meaningful trade would take between three and 10 months, depending on the scale of the outbreak.

Although Anderson stresses an FMD outbreak is unlikely, given the measures in place at the border to prevent the disease entering the country, the potential damage to the economy makes it essential to minimise its spread. An efficient, easy-to-use traceability system with which all participants comply promptly and completely underpins New Zealand’s biosecurity protective shield. Everyone has to play their part.

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