Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Cattle and deer herds in Auckland region clear of TB again

Updated at 6:45 am on 2 February 2012

Cattle and deer herds in the Auckland region are officially free from bovine tuberculosis again, with the eradication of the disease from a farm on the Awhitu Peninsula.

A programme of TB testing, livestock movement control and wild animal monitoring has cleared infection from a herd on the farm.

The Animal Health Board is heading a campaign to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from the country's cattle and deer herds.

Possums are the main source of the disease in livestock. Forty percent of the country has infected possums and other wildlife.

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