Piroplasmosis in Cattle Imported Onto the Island of Jeju-Do, Republic of Korea

The island of Jeju-Do lies some 100 km off the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. The Korean mainland is largely unsuitable for cattle grazing since a ridge of rather barren mountains forms a back-bone to the peninsula, while the coastal plains are flat and water-logged, being used extensively for rice cultivation. Jeju-Do, on the other hand, has a series of several zones of vegetation on the slopes of the centrally-placed extinct volcano, Mt. Halla (1950 m). In particular, there is an extensive (50,000 ha) zone of grassland suitable for cattle grazing between 250 m and 500–600 m. This zone is thus similar to those used in Japan for successful cattle-rearing operations.