MPI boss Ray Smith: preparing for 'scary' foot-and-mouth disease incursion

MPI boss Ray Smith: preparing for 'scary' foot-and-mouth disease incursion
Ministry for Primary Industries director-general Ray Smith. (Duncan Brown/NZME)
Oliver Lewis
Foot-and-mouth disease getting into New Zealand would be a "scary" and “gigantic thing”, the head of the Ministry for Primary Industry (MPI) says.The director general of MPI, Ray Smith, made the comment during a panel session at the China Business Summit in Auckland on Monday, pre-empting a question from NZ Inc managing director Fran O’Sullivan in his eagerness to address the topic.The highly contagious viral disease, which affects livestock like cattle, sheep and goats, was detected in Indonesia earlier this year, h...

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