A new organisation, bringing together two others, will enhance New Zealand’s biosecurity and pest management strategies.
The name of the new organisation being formed through the merger of the Animal Health Board (AHB) and the National Identification and Tracing (NAIT) has been announced.
Chairman of the board, Jeff Grant, told a recent Stakeholders’ Council meeting that, in line with its intention to provide operational solutions for New Zealand’s primary industries, the organisation would be called OSPRI New Zealand.
“I would like to think that in five years time, we will have gained recognition for having one of the best biosecurity and pest management strategies anywhere in the world,” said Grant, after the meeting.
“Making smarter use of data is a key priority and there are opportunities to further enhance government and industry collaboration, boost biosecurity preparedness and strengthen relationships.”
Extra value would be achieved by having AHB and NAIT as one entity and this provides an ideal mix to explore broader opportunities, says Grant.
“Part of the strategy will be to assist other organisations in biosecurity programmes, but the core commitment to the TBfree New Zealand and NAIT programmes will continue.”
William McCook (pictured right), was appointed as chief executive of OSPRI New Zealand in November 2012. It is expected to be formally up and running by the middle of this year.
In the meantime, deer will join the NAIT scheme on 1 March. Cattle are already covered in the scheme.
Leave a Reply