Meat industry aims to milk news blunder

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON agricultural editor

New Zealand may yet gain favourable international exposure following CNN's foot-and-mouth reporting blunder.

The giant global news agency apologised yesterday, in a prominent position on its website, for mistakenly listing New Zealand and Australia as having had cases of the highly contagious animal disease.

"In a story published March 16, it was incorrectly stated that foot-and-mouth disease had been reported or suspected in Australia and New Zealand. CNN regrets the error," the agency said in a list of international stories at CNN.com/world.

It had already removed the offending paragraph from the story on the British foot-and-mouth crisis by correspondent David George.

But vigorous protests by a number of outraged agricultural trade bodies and Acting Biosecurity Minister Jim Sutton may produce more of a silver lining from the debacle.

"The minister is happy with CNN's retraction," a spokeswoman said. "There isn't much else we can ask, and they are now doing a story on New Zealand's biosecurity measures, New Zealand's animal health surveillance system and our disease-free status, so that's good."

CNN's interest in the true state of affairs in New Zealand was sparked by contacts from the farmer-backed Meat NZ and the Meat Industry Association, which represents processors.

Debbie Gee, of Meat NZ, said she had e-mailed CNN highlighting New Zealand's comprehensive animal health surveillance system and how it was designed to spot and test for any suspicious stock illnesses.

When a CNN Interactive staff member phoned expressing interest in the system, Ms Gee referred him to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

"Hopefully we'll be able to turn this thing around and make it something positive," she said.

Meat Industry Association executive director Brian Lynch spoke to CNN journalist David George.

"He went to some lengths to reassure me that there was nothing overt about it. It was a bad piece of reporting," Mr Lynch said.

George sought information about New Zealand and Australia's disease-free status.

Mr Sutton and Meat NZ have also asked Time magazine to correct a false statement that the two Tasman neighbours had also "largely eliminated" foot-and-mouth. Neither country has the disease to eliminate.

Herald Online feature: Foot-and-mouth disaster

UK outbreak map

World organisation for animal health

UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

The European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Pig Health/Foot and Mouth feature

Virus databases online