Legal action could derail fight against foot-and-mouth disease, Steenhuisen warns
Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has warned that threatened legal action by farming lobby groups could undermine the fight against foot-and-mouth disease
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Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has warned that threatened legal action by farming lobby groups could undermine South Africa’s fight against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
The warning comes after Saai, Sakeliga and Free State Agriculture sent a legal letter to the Department of Agriculture demanding that livestock owners be allowed to privately administer vaccines, and threatening court action if the request is not granted.
Last year, IOL reported that Steenhuisen announced a sweeping national plan to vaccinate South Africa’s entire cattle herd against foot-and-mouth disease as the country battled one of its most severe outbreaks in decades.
"The department warns that this progress is now at risk. The threatened court action could well derail the purchasing and rollout of vaccines while the Saai, Sakeliga and Free State Agriculture case moves through the court process and the department waits to obtain a clear directive from the court in this matter," Steenhuisen said.
"Technical responses required by officials and veterinarians within the department, to answer such a court challenge, will divert critical veterinary and departmental resources away from the frontline fight against FMD. In addition, financial resources that could go towards vaccine purchase or personnel recruitment will have to be diverted to answer the court challenge."
Steenhuisen added that foot-and-mouth disease is a controlled animal disease governed by law, and that the state is legally required to manage vaccination and surveillance in a centralised manner. He warned that allowing uncontrolled private vaccination would jeopardise South Africa’s ability to regain its FMD-free status with the World Organisation for Animal Health.
"The scientific path to FMD-free status is very clear. In order to regain the 'FMD-free status with vaccination' from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), South Africa must prove there has been no virus transmission for at least 12 months. This requires a strictly controlled vaccination rollout, official surveillance, strict movement controls and systematic vaccination coverage that is able to be documented and verified.
"Without centralised monitoring and State-led control over the process, the country will fail to achieve this goal, causing long-term damage to agricultural exports and negating the entire strategy of vaccination."
mthobisi.nozulela@iol.co.za
IOL Business