Foot and mouth disease (FMD)

Foot and mouth disease is a highly infectious viral disease that causes painful lesions on cloven-hoofed animals including sheep, cattle, pigs and goats. Confirmation of the disease in New Zealand would lead to immediate cessation of most livestock product exports to premium markets overseas, with serious economic consequences for the industries and the wider economy.

image of ute following herd of cows on dusty road

Update

Need to know

  • B+LNZ is now part of an Operational Agreement (under the GIA) between the livestock sector and the Government on FMD readiness and response, following a sheep and beef farmer vote to approve B+LNZ joining the agreement. Keeping FMD out of New Zealand is still the number one priority but the agreement helps ensure we’re as prepared as possible in the unlikely event it does arrive. It also gives sheep and beef farmers a voice in decision-making about the direction of any response effort. 
  • FMD outbreaks were reported on farms in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia in early 2025. In the last few years, it has also been reported in countries closer to home, such as Indonesia.

On-farm precautions

  • Everyday on-farm biosecurity is most important for protecting farms from pests and diseases already present in New Zealand. This also helps protect farms from diseases that may be introduced from overseas and haven’t been detected yet, making the sector as a whole more resilient and potentially reducing the scale of any outbreaks.
  • Don’t allow visitors who have been on farms or in contact with farm animals while overseas in countries that have FMD onto your farm for at least a week after their arrival in New Zealand.
  • Ensure stringent on-farm biosecurity protocols are in place and adhered to.
  • All animal movement records and animal health declarations must be up to date. For cattle and deer ensure your NAIT recording is up to date. For all other livestock species use the electronic ASD (eASD) functionality provided by OSPRI.
  • Do not feed uncooked food waste to pigs.
  • Become familiar with the symptoms of FMD and do not hesitate to call 0800 80 99 66 or a vet if you are worried about signs of disease.

Key resources

What does FMD look like?

See images below (note some include graphic content):

B+LNZ’s role

B+LNZ is part of an Operational Agreement that sets out readiness and response activities for FMD. As part of the agreement we:

  • continue work on response planning, including things like staff training, business continuity planning, and participation in foot and mouth disease exercises and simulations
  • agree to fund FMD readiness and response activities
  • have a direct, legally-binding say in decision-making for FMD readiness and response
    • readiness activities are those taken to ensure we’re prepared with appropriate systems and resources to deal with the response to an outbreak
    • response activities are those directly related to dealing with an outbreak of disease

We also have a role to play in raising farmer awareness about the signs of FMD and the benefit of having good on-farm biosecurity plans in place.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) leads the setting of standards for border inspection and treatment requirements for goods crossing the New Zealand border. The New Zealand border and industries are not afforded decision rights over these.However, we provide feedback on public consultations about import health standards and support MPI in continuing to implement stringent, science-based measures which have been successful in keeping many of the most serious pests and diseases of livestock out of New Zealand.