In December 1996 the Department of Natural Resources and Environment commenced an eradication programme of Ovine Johne's Disease (OJD) in the state of Victoria, Australia. The programme was based on compulsory slaughter and destocking for a minimum of 2 summers of all sheep, deer, goats and alpaca on properties where OJD was identified. This paper describes the effects of this programme on sheep owners, their families and rural communities. The effects on farm profitability, the costs and logistics of changing to an alternative enterprise for the destocked period, the costs and problems faced in restocking the farm following the destocked period, and the hidden costs of eradication are examined. Effectiveness of a disease control programme such as this OJD control programme is clearly dependent on the cooperation of all sheep owners. The role of affected sheep owners and their cooperation in this control programme is discussed. This programme has provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the effects of an eradication programme which requires total destocking of all susceptible species for a minimum of 16 months.