King Misuzulu kaZwelithini recently met with Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen and representatives of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, and the Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) to discuss the issues of animal health and disease traceability in KwaZulu-Natal.
The province has been in the grip of foot-and-mouth disease for years. There are currently more than 130 active outbreaks of this highly contagious disease that affects livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep and pigs, and another two potential outbreaks are being investigated.
The department has implemented strict biosecurity measures to try to combat the spread of the disease, as well as a drive to vaccinate cloven-hoofed animals against it within declared disease control areas.
Minister Steenhuisen; Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa, the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture; and representatives of the department visited the king at the eMashobeni Royal Palace in Nongoma on Friday, 21 February 2025, to ask for his support in combating and controlling the spread of the disease in the province. Dewald Olivier, the CEO of RMIS, was there too by invitation from the king’s team.
Oliver told African Farming the main talking points were the health of the king’s and the community’s livestock and traceability, and that issues surrounding the Ingonyama Trust were not discussed.
Vaccinations
“The discussions were very positive,” Oliver says. “The king committed to leading by example and getting all his livestock vaccinated.”
A statement was released to say that the department has been invited to the king’s farm to start vaccination.
Furthermore, the department confirmed that money had been made available for vaccinating livestock in affected areas in the province, ensuring that vaccination efforts can be ramped up to contain the disease. “The department remains committed to working closely with traditional leaders, farmers, veterinary officials and industry stakeholders to mitigate the impact of foot-and-mouth and restore stability in the livestock industry.”
Education and traceability
Olivier says during the discussions it also became clear that this community needed to be informed about the impact of foot-and-mouth disease on, among others, the meat that people eat.
“Some of the questions we got were whether red meat was safe for human consumption, and whether the disease could be transmitted from animals to humans.”
King kaZwelithini told Olivier that he wanted to register his herd on the RMIS Traceability Platform. “We also talked about how the king and the community could enter the commercial livestock and red meat sector.”
To continue this discussion, Olivier and other stakeholders in the red meat industry will soon visit the king.
