New Zealand to cull more than 100,000 cows to eradicate Mycoplasma disease

Nation which produces 3% of the world's milk will embark on the biggest cull in its history

New Zealand will become the first country in the world to try to eradicate the cow disease Mycoplasma bovis, culling tens of thousands of cows in the largest mass animal slaughter in the country's history.

Government and farming sector leaders have agreed to cull 126,000 cows and spend more than NZ$800m ($560m) over 10 years in an attempt to save the national dairy herd and protect the long-term productivity of the farming sector, which is New Zealand's second biggest export earner.