AGRICULTURAL NEWS - In an update to its members on 8 January, Dr Frikkie Maré, the CEO of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO), says foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is in the process of bringing the largest agricultural industry in South Africa (referring to cloven-hooved animals) to its knees. And, he writes, it feels like the solutions are coming too slowly.
“The disease is still spreading like wildfire, and we are still without a vaccine. The Ministerial Task Team on Animal Diseases continues to hold meetings and develop plans, which are not being shared with the industry,” Maré says.
“The plan is still to vaccinate the entire country, but only a sober person knows what the plan looks like. In the meantime, red meat producers with positive or adjacent farms are still without a market, without income, and with higher-than-normal costs because they cannot sell their weaners. KwaZulu-Natal still has a DMA [disease management area] with stricter rules, while the rest of the province, as well as other provinces, are riddled with FMD.
"The producers are suffering catastrophic losses. They are discouraged, and there are no answers or concrete solutions on the table.”
Maré says calf deaths due to tiger heart syndrome, in which the virus affects the heart muscle, are worrying, as is the fact that lactating extensive-production cows are getting severe mastitis. “... adult animals are lying down because they are so crippled they cannot stand or walk.
"We are receiving reports that dairies that had been vaccinated six weeks ago have now picked up the virus and, despite vaccination, are still experiencing huge losses in production, morbidities and mortalities. There are confirmed cases at pig farms, while there is no approved vaccine for pigs in South Africa.”
According to Maré, there are increasing questions about how the virus is spreading, as cattle more than a kilometre from the nearest livestock have tested positive. “The virus has infiltrated pig farms despite the presence of excellent biosecurity measures. There are questions about the effectiveness of the vaccine, as vaccinated animals show severe symptoms. Speculation is rife about the virus having drastically mutated, because what is happening now is something we have never seen before.”
George Herald tried to obtain comment in person from Maré, but he was unavailable due to prior professional commitments.
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