LIMPOPO – This relief comes almost six months after the last case of Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) was reported in the province. A statement issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development confirmed permission was granted to nine feedlots for the safe slaughter of animals.
Departmental Media Liaison Officer, Reggie Ngcobo says ten properties will remain under quarantine and the department’s veterinary services will continue to work with the affected farmers to resolve the issue.
“More than 11 000 animals from farms under quarantine have been safely processed thus far and once all animals on affected properties have been slaughtered, quarantine can be lifted and the farming operations can resume.”
He added that the ban on the export of live cattle from South Africa to Botswana has also since been lifted. “The import conditions for export of cattle to Botswana have also been revised and a health certificate has been agreed upon. FMD specific import conditions include isolation of animals for at least 30 days while preparing for export under supervision of the Veterinary Authority and testing for FMD during this time.”
The department advised potential exporters to contact their local state veterinarian to familiarise themselves with the set requirements for exporting cattle to the country.
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The FMD outbreak started in November 2019 and 19 locations were affected.
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“On most of the affected locations, more than 6 months have passed since the last clinical cases, which is a very encouraging sign that the outbreak was successfully controlled,” he said. Ngcobo added that the last positive location was reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health on 26 February and since then no new positive locations have been identified.
“Once the process of resolving all affected premises has been concluded, the department will embark on a general surveillance strategy in all the areas affected. Going forward, the outcome of this survey will determine the process of regaining international FMD free zone status,” he concluded.
