Scrapie suspected at Mana Island quarantine station Confirmation by international expert Dr J.T. Stamp Burning of carcases at Mana By Dr Clive Dalton Shock-horror at Mana Island. Scrapie A report in Surveillance Vol 5:4 1978 by MAF veterinarian Dave Collins reported that a clinical case of Scrapie was confirmed in an East Friesian ewe on … Read more
Finding sheep in UK and IrelandPurebred ewes on Somes By Dr Clive Dalton Finding sheep in UK and Ireland Without going back to the official MAF Research files (if anyone would know where to look), this is what Dr Neil Clarke, previously in Ruakura genetics remembers about the flocks he located that had sheep for … Read more
First MAF importation Selecting sheep for importation Organising the sheep before transport to New Zealand Summary of events By Dr Clive Dalton Summary of events Selecting sheep for importation Selecting individual sheep as a representative of a breed is never an easy task, as differences within breeds are always greater than differences between breeds. Sadly this is a much-ignored … Read more
Quarantine on Somes Island Sheep moved from Somes Island to Mana Island Sheep moved from Mana Island to Crater Block By Dr Clive Dalton From Somes Island to Mana Island Tim Harvey remembers that when the Somes Island quarantine flock got to around 500 sheep, the proposed move to Mana became urgent, even though the … Read more
Pressure for importation Chance of a fast buck By Dr Clive Dalton When the pressure came on in the 1970s to import more sheep from UK, the memory of the 1952 Scrapie saga was still sufficiently fresh in the memory of a lot of folk to make them very nervous. So there was a clear acceptance … Read more
Scrapie in UK Cause of ScrapieScrapie history in New Zealand By Dr Clive Dalton Scrapie was a major importation risk and this certainly worried a lot of people both in New Zealand and in UK. Scrapie in UK Scrapie is endemic in UK, and we budding young shepherds used to see what must have been … Read more
General attributes of breeds on the import wish list Priority list Within versus between breeds By Dr Clive Dalton If you read the breed promotional blurb provided by breed organisations, you have to wonder why we bother to have different breeds at all, as according to their promoters, all breeds are good at everything and … Read more