By Lloyd Phillips
It would be a literal miracle if South Africa were somehow able to reverse the ongoing spread of foot and mouth disease, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. Livestock owners and animal health authorities should rather learn to live with and manage it appropriately.
Despite all the long-time and still ongoing efforts by both public and private animal health authorities and experts, and by organised agriculture entities, it is assured that new outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in South Africa will occur. The only key unknowns are when and where.
This is according to Dr Shaun Morris, a private consultant veterinarian who has developed immense experience in dealing with FMD, especially in the Eastern Cape outbreaks of recent years.
Morris was a guest presenter at the BKB Foot and mouth Disease Information Day held on Wednesday at the Dundee District Farmers’ Union premises in KwaZulu-Natal. It is perhaps sadly ironic that the livestock sales yard and ring where the meeting was held, stands empty and unused after it recently fell within the newly expanded boundaries of the province’s FMD Disease Management Area.
Morris is known for being openly critical of important shortcomings in the state animal health management sector. He said even with the state’s unprecedented and refreshingly positive intention to soon allow private veterinarians to become directly involved with helping manage the current FMD outbreaks in KZN, this disease will never again be fully controlled.
“There are just too many variables at play. A major one is that communal livestock are increasingly found grazing alongside wildlife in what used to be fenced-off protected areas. These communal cattle and other livestock then easily pick up FMD from the buffalo and other wild animals,” he said to the meeting.
“The most effective way for you to minimise your risk from FMD is for you to take sole responsibility for all your farm’s biosecurity. The livestock farmer is the first and most important line of defence.”
This last sentiment was echoed by Dr Arina Shepherd, a private veterinarian who heads up the KwaZulu-Natal Animal Health Forum.
Biosecurity is everything. Forever.
“The government is never going to be able to resolve FMD. Biosecurity is everything now. Forever. It’s not only for your protection but also helps protect the entire red meat value chain.”
Various presenters at the meeting in Dundee explained that inadvertent or wilful negligence by a single livestock owner or other stakeholder, which results in a case of FMD somewhere new, has immense and devastating ripple-effect consequences for numerous other stakeholders in the red meat value chain.
Dewald Olivier, the Red Meat Industry Services chief executive officer, explained that these consequences include feedlots no longer being willing and/or permitted to buy weaners from other livestock farmers in areas surrounding a new outbreak of FMD. These latter farmers are suddenly without a livelihood.
The closure of regular, popular and busy sales at the Dundee facility are yet another example of such consequences.
“We are developing a system that will differentiate between farmers, no matter at what scale of production, who are willing to work within the system to manage FMD versus those who don’t want to or can’t work within this system,” he says.
“Create trust. Create relationships. Create consideration for all others in South Africa’s red meat production.”
Also read:
KZN’s FMD spreads further, but positive steps being made
WATCH | MEC leads FMD vaccination drive
Worried KZN livestock farmers urgently need accurate FMD information
