On 4 different farms, 9 clinically affected hinds in the late stages of pregnancy were slaughtered and samples were taken from these hinds and their 10 foetuses. Blood samples were tested with the Paralisa test, a modified IgG1 ELISA. Tissue samples were cultured using the BACTEC method and fixed samples examined histopathologically.Six hinds were Paralisa-positive, all foetuses were Paralisa-negative. All hinds and 9 of the 10 foetuses were culture-positive. Histopathologically, acid fast organisms were seen in 6 hinds and none were seen in foetal tissues. However, lesions characteristic of Johne's disease were present in all tissues from the hinds and most foetal tissues showed some pathological changes.These results show that there is a considerable risk of transmission of paratuberculosis from clinically affected hinds to their foetuses in late pregnancy. It would therefore be unwise for farmers to delay slaughter of clinically affected hinds in order to keep the fawns.