Sheep Measles Seen As Export Threat

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32011, 11 June 1969, Page 14

Sheep Measles Seen As Export Threat

Strong action was needed to eliminate taenia ovis, or sheep measles, from dogs and sheep, said Mr W. M. Harvie, at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs yesterday.

The country had only a limited time to do something about it or meat sales overseas could be affected, he said. I Mr Harvie is federation reipresentative on the National [Hydatids Council. | Last year, he recalled, Australian ewe mutton had been .rejected in the United States lon this account.

I “What is going to happen if we start getting mutton rejected?” Earlier, Mr Harvie said that there had been some criticism of the imposition of a redosing fee when ovis was being brought in as part of the hydatids eradication ; scheme. Issue Of Cost

Mr Harvie said that as drugs were only of therapeutic aid it became a question of feeding which raised the important issue of cost.

He said that criticism on this had been silenced when he had cited the allowances made to rabbiters through rabbit boards for feeding of dogs. To a questioner, Mr Harvie said that there was no chance of taenia ovis being excluded from the hydatids cam-

paign as a result of pressure groups. The Government had firmly decided to go ahead with this. Federated Farmers, he said, had more or less put their heads in the sand on this issue, but it was no use ignoring a problem that had to be faced.

Mr Harvie said that the approach to control of the three species of tapeworm—true hydatids, false hydatids and sheep measles—was the same. “Deny dogs access to raw offal and raw meat and do not feed dogs raw offal or raw meat," was the short message, he said. The national president, Mr W. S. Penno. said in his annual report that it was pleasing to find that the Government’s decision about the future of the hydatids campaign was not substantially different from the views of the federation.

The organisation continued to take a strong position in urging the eradication of taenia ovis. The economic dimensions of the problem were gradually forcing some of the farming community to agree.