South Africa’s minister for agriculture, Thoko Didiza, has promised to release the recommendations report from the technical task team on biosecurity for animal health before the end of the month. This comes as the country is confronted with a nation-wide outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and several other challenges facing the livestock industry.
Industry stakeholders have been hard at work to address the current outbreaks of FMD which spread from Limpopo to KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Gauteng, and the Free State. A meeting between these stakeholders and the department of agriculture recently took place to strategise a way forward.
Several challenges were outlined, during the meeting.
Minister Didiza has in the interim assured the industry that her department was doing all it can to address the outbreak in the country. She added that she has engaged with all affected provincial MEC’s and relevant officials.
“I will intervene personally on some of these matters to ensure that they are resolved,” Didiza said.
Slaughtering and culling have been implemented in areas such as Gauteng and the same approach is expected to take place in the North West and Free State.
“An urgent meeting will be held with the Premier and relevant MEC’s in Limpopo [this week) to ensure swift and appropriate actions are put in place to stem and contain the disease in Limpopo” said Didiza.
Her department said that a KZN team had been meeting with the industry in order to undertake quick surveillance after the floods to ensure that disease is contained in the disaster management area.
Zero tolerance approach
Meanwhile, the recommendations of the ministerial biosecurity for animal health technical task team is expected to be released before the end of the month. Didiza appointed the task team in August 2021 with special emphasis on FMD, African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza.
In a recent article, the agriculture minister confirmed that the FMD disease outbreaks were caused by the illegal movement of animals from the FMD-controlled zones in Limpopo.
One man has so far been arrested for illegally moving goats.
Didiza emphasised, “Let me make it clear that there will be zero tolerance on unlawful movement of cloven-hoofed livestock from infected areas or properties. I want to reiterate that traceability is a joint venture which must be driven by the industry and LITS-SA (livestock identification and traceability system in South Africa) for implementation.”
ALSO READ: FMD outbreak: Ministers’ advice to safeguard animals
What’s next?
The meeting between Didiza’s department and industry stakeholders on 20 April 2022 resolved on the following issues:
- South Africa’s FMD free status application will be pursued as the final goal, although this will take time.
- Additional resources, including but not limited to compulsory community services veterinarians will be directed towards the areas that are struggling with major FMD outbreaks.
- Animal health technicians and private veterinarians will also be directed to these areas for additional assistance.
- Laboratory capacity improvements will be investigated.
- The Agricultural Produce Agents Act (APAC) rules will be implemented at auctions and out-of-hand transactions.
- Self-regulation is important.
- A process of selective vaccination is followed.
- Slaughtering and culling are mainly undertaken in the newly affected areas.
- Decisive and fast decision-making is critical.
FMD has a major impact on trade in livestock and livestock products but has no impact on human health. The meat from animals slaughtered at an abattoir where the necessary inspections are conducted is therefore safe to consume.
The importance of a contingency plan which must be put together urgently by both government and the industry, has been noted by the minister.
“Livestock handling facilities and the vacancies of state vets in the Limpopo Province have received attention and the implementation will be communicated soon,” Didiza said.
Meanwhile, domestic market access for the livestock owners in the Limpopo FMD Control Zones would be promoted through feedlot projects, the department said.
ALSO READ: FMD outbreak: Didiza confirms livestock handler’s arrest
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