Farmers whose cattle will be culled due to Mycoplasma bovis will need emotional support from family and friends says Katie Milne.
The President of Federated Farmers spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay saying, "we want people to back these guys, they're having the hardest thing happen to them you can ever have as a farmer and they need good moral support from their relatives and friends and neighbours."
The Ministry for Primary Industries announced this week that over 22,000 cattle will be culled from properties infected with Mycoplasma bovis in an attempt to eradicate the disease.
MPI has also raided three locations to try and discover how Mycoplasma bovis entered New Zealand.
"They're doing their best to find out exactly if there was any illegal activity that's gone on with this incursion and if so the full force of the law is going to have to come down upon those who have done that," says Milne.