Publication of the TB in Wildlife Special Issue supplement, 2015
New Zealand Veterinary Journal cover
A major writing effort over the last five years by the TB research group in the Wildlife Ecology & Management Team has culminated in publication of ‘Control of Bovine Tuberculosis in New Zealand in the Face of a Wildlife Host: A Compiled Review of 50 Years of Programme Policy, Design and Research’.
This publication, a Special Issue supplement to the New Zealand Veterinary Journal, stems from the second review of the National Pest Management Strategy (NPMS) for bovine TB in 2008-09. Agricultural funders and others had been critical at that time because most research into managing TB in wildlife rested in contract reports, not readily accessible. Without ready reference to the in-depth science, some were unconvinced that eradication of TB from wildlife was feasible or affordable.
That prompted a major review and synthesis of published and unpublished science to support the next 5-yearly review, scheduled for 2014-15. By 2011, a group of 20 experts had been convened to produce a definitive state-of-the-art work on wildlife/TB research. Four years on and more than 100 pages have now been published, summarising research over the last 50 years in general and the last 20 years in detail. It covers why TB in wildlife has been such a problem to the agricultural sector, and the way that farmers got behind wildlife-oriented research and TB management as a means to control the disease in livestock.
In policy terms, publication of the Special Issue is highly significant. A formal assessment earlier this year (part of the third review of the NPMS currently underway) concluded that New Zealand’s investment in TB research had been productive and successful; stakeholders and funders are now convinced that eradication of TB from livestock and wildlife is achievable with current tools and techniques. Moreover, the means by which TB control is being orchestrated in New Zealand is seen by other countries as a ‘flagship’ ‒ demonstrating that TB in wildlife can be successfully managed with sufficient industry and community support.
The TB research group – including two co-recipients of the prestigious Shorland Medal for sustained research effort in wildlife pest management – led the major collaborative effort of the Special issue, contributing lead- or co-authorship on eight of the nine research papers in the publication. TBfree New Zealand were hugely supportive ‒ also contributing to most of the papers, funding much of the writing and paying the ‘Open Access’ fees for free public access to the science.