The New Zealand government has announced a €530m action plan phased over 10 years in a bid to eradicate the debilitating disease Mycoplasma bovis from the country. As many as 150,000 cattle are set to be culled from the national herd over the next two years as part of the plan. No country has ever eradicated the disease once it has become established. The New Zealand dairy industry estimates the culling programme will hit the country’s milk production between 2% and 3% due to the reduction in the national dairy herd - equating to a decline in production of between 400m litres and 620m litres.