By Lloyd Phillips
Leaders of the KwaZulu-Natal Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO) are being swamped with calls from livestock farmers in the province. These farmers are worried about how they need to go about legally navigating the new foot-and-mouth disease management area announced for the province on Monday.
Following the announcement of an expanded foot-and-mouth disease management area (FMD DMA) for KwaZulu-Natal, the province’s livestock farmers who either will be, or already are, impacted by this development are going to need timeous, clear, understandable and achievable instructions from state animal health authorities. This is according to Angus Williamson, who chairs the KwaZulu-Natal Red Meat Producers’ Organisation and is the second vice-chair of the national RPO.
Williamson tells African Farming that he has been fielding numerous calls from KZN livestock farmers who are desperately seeking clarity on how they stand to be impacted by the new FMD DMA. They also want to know how to go about adhering to laws regarding the movement of cloven-hooved livestock and their products into, out of and within this larger FMD DMA.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the answers because it is only the Department of Agriculture and state animal health authorities that can make such decisions and that are permitted to release the information publicly,” Williamson says.
“There has already been some conflicting important information by different animal health authorities, and that has caused anxiety and frustration among KZN livestock farmers. It is essential that all these authorities first agree on unified strategies for dealing with FMD in KZN, before announcing them publicly. However, this decision-making must also be speedily handled.”
African Farming can confirm an example of such conflicting information. Earlier on Monday, the Ministry of Agriculture publicly released a statement announcing the new boundaries for the FMD DMA in KZN. This statement included a map of these supposed new boundaries. Then, about two-and-a-half hours later, the ministry issued a brief message stating, “Please note that the map in the above update is incorrect. It will be updated shortly.”
Confusion creates fear
The ministry subsequently released a corrected map, but KZN’s livestock farmers who suddenly and unexpectedly fell within the initially incorrect boundaries were already in turmoil.
Sandy La Marque is chief executive officer of the KZN Agricultural Union (Kwanalu). She says, “The time it took to release this new DMA has been concerning.” She adds that the initially incorrect map contributed to complicating matters.
Williamson adds that, at the time of publication, KZN livestock farmers also remain confused regarding whether they require a Red Cross Permit to be able to legally move animals in the province, or if a less onerous valid health declaration will suffice.
“Again, I can’t give these farmers a clear answer because I, too, don’t know.”
La Marque points out that KZN’s FMD DMA and the associated livestock movement restrictions will have severe impacts on livestock farmers within this DMA. KZN’s economy as a whole will also be impacted.
“The original DMA, which has been in place since 2021, has already severely affected producers there, with many losing their ability to trade their animals and, therefore, to earn an income,” she says.
“Questions abound particularly from within the new DMA regarding market options, abattoir facilities, movement controls, vaccination, resources and more. Unless immediate, clear direction and solutions are provided for those affected, it may lead to further challenges being experienced.”
Income is essential
Williamson explains that sufficient approved abattoir facilities must be rapidly established within KZN’s new FMD DMA. These will help affected livestock producers, the majority of whom are small-scale farmers relying almost solely on being able to sell one or two of their animals at a time to survive, to generate an income legally. Otherwise, the threat and consequences of illegal movement of livestock out of this DMA will remain.
“You can’t help but understand how a small-scale livestock farmer who is unable to legally market his animals might consider turning to illegally moving his animals so that he can feed his household.”
Williamson says that, nevertheless, to hopefully bring the risk of new outbreaks of FMD in KZN to an eventual end, the state must start enforcing harsh consequences for livestock owners who break movement controls. “There are just too many livestock owners who don’t take these controls seriously because, as things stand, if they happen to be caught, they only get a proverbial slap on the wrist,” he says. “This is definitely not a sufficient deterrent. They need to be legally charged and punished accordingly.”
The KZN RPO points out that, despite all of the existing challenges, it remains grateful for state animal health authorities’ ongoing efforts to vaccinate numerous cattle in parts of the province where FMD outbreaks have been confirmed. Reportedly, 40 300 animals were recently vaccinated in only seven days.
