By Alani Janeke
“The government can announce another 50 pages of regulations and add more and more documents for every load of animals being transported, but if the regulations are not applied and the right things are not done on the ground, it won’t help,” says Paul van Vuuren, farmer, feedlot owner and managing director of André Kock & Sons Limpopo about the new regulations for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that were announced on 13 June.
“Already, you are required to carry a pile of papers as thick as the Bible when you transport livestock in South Africa, and adding more documents will mean nothing without urgent and decisive action on the ground. Who is going to enforce it? Who will ensure that everyone in the industry complies with the regulations that apply to them?
“It can’t just be the responsibility of auction houses and feedlots to maintain biosecurity and comply with the rules. Everyone in the industry must stand together and support each other so that we can tackle this problem.”
Van Vuuren says he also can’t understand why stricter regulations and movement restrictions are applied to the livestock industry while special rules are not implemented for the wildlife industry. “All antelope species – from kudus to steenbok, wildebeest and buffalo – have cloven hooves and can contract or spread foot-and-mouth disease, and those animals are still transported without stricter regulations.”
Auctions postponed
Van Vuuren has postponed his auctions at Brits until further notice due to the occurrence of FMD in that area. “I believe it’s the responsible thing to do. I don’t want the disease to spread on one of my premises.”
He is part of the FMD forum in Limpopo, which was established following the 2019 outbreak, leading to a ban on all auctions in North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng in November of that year. According to Van Vuuren, the forum was established in response to the specific needs of emerging farmers in the province, who expressed a pressing need for it during the outbreak and subsequent ban.
In 2019, Willem van Jaarsveld, chairman of the forum, warned the then Minister of Agriculture, Thoko Didiza, in a letter six weeks before the outbreak of the disease in the Potchefstroom area that there was a risk the disease could spread to that area. The forum had monitored the movement of vehicles and livestock, identifying the risk, but the warning was ignored.
How the forum works
Van Vuuren says all members of the forum participate voluntarily and make contributions to combat the disease in the province. The forum has established an extensive network of informants over the past six years and forms part of a network of cameras that monitor, among other things, suspicious vehicles and animals. They also work closely with the police, state veterinarians (especially Drs. Gerhard Coetzer and Jan Nel), Agri Limpopo and farmers. These structures not only help combat the spread of the disease but also fight livestock theft.
Dr. Hendrik Hansen, an official veterinarian serving on the technical committee of the forum, has conducted extensive research on the disease and shared practical advice on its prevention. He has also helped to draft the FMD regulations and biosecurity legislation in the country.
Overhead sprays and livestock theft officers
Hansen pointed out that the use of overhead sprays at farms, auctions and feedlots, among others, to disinfect vehicles arriving at the premises is an essential aspect of prevention.
Van Vuuren says he has erected overhead sprays at his feedlot, as well as at his auction premises and on his farm. If auctions are held at premises where these sprays are not installed, a mobile spray is taken along.
He also uses spray booths through which people move, so they are also sprayed with disinfectant (F10) , as the virus can survive for up to three days on surfaces such as clothes, shoes, and even in a person’s nose. This disinfectant is not harmful to humans.
According to Hansen’s research, the overhead sprays are up to 80% effective in preventing the spread of the virus. “It may not be 100%, but I’d rather take 80% than nothing.”
Van Vuuren says overhead spray stations should be erected on the country’s main routes so that any vehicle – whether it’s a pickup truck, a pickup with a trailer, or a truck transporting animals between provinces – must go through the spray to limit spread between provinces.
The appointment of livestock theft and biosecurity officers, who have the authority to make arrests, is another urgently needed measure to ensure regulations are effectively enforced on the ground. As an example, he referred to the livestock theft officers in America who are also responsible for monitoring animal diseases. “This will not only help to apprehend violators of biosecurity measures but also have a positive effect on combating livestock theft.”
