Limpopo forms crucial biosecurity barrier for SA

Limpopo is the most important province in South Africa in terms of biosecurity, and therefore needs to be the best-prepared province.

This was the message from Dr Faffa Malan, veterinarian and managing director of the Ruminant Veterinarian Association of South Africa, to delegates at the Limpopo Red Meat Producers’ Organisation’s recent congress near Mookgophong.

“This province borders Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, as well as North West, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. Furthermore, it’s next to the Kruger National Park, where many of our livestock diseases originate.”

South African livestock producers had been confronted by many serious livestock diseases, and Malan warned that this would only escalate.

“The state’s responsibility is to keep diseases at bay at our borders. Many state officials are doing an exemplary job of protecting our borders, but a few are not. However, we also have farmers who are [not taking precautions].”

Malan said foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) remained a serious concern.

Leon Thom, a livestock farmer near Gravelotte in Limpopo, said he had experienced many difficulties with the Directorate of Veterinary Services regarding FMD, and said officials were “incompetent in containing the transportation of infected animals”.

“Many emerging farmers take their animals into the Kruger National Park and then bring them out again. This creates a serious biosecurity threat.”

Gerhard Schutte, CEO of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation, said the organisation was hoping that the new statutory levy that had been introduced for the industry would provide the funding to address such problems.

Limpopo state veterinarian Dr Gerhard Knoetze said one of the major issues in this regard was that cattle were not properly identified and registered.

Years ago, he added, each animal received a registration number and was identified via a coloured ear-tag to distinguish it according to disease zones.

“This programme was stopped two or three years ago, and now

80% of the province’s animals are no longer [properly identified].”

Knoetze added that a shortage of FMD vaccines was another major concern, as the medication was only supplied by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. “However, vaccines are only one of the barriers that farmers are struggling with. Fences are also a major concern. If you put up a fence today, it’s stolen tomorrow.”

Abattoirs also faced difficulties every time there were FMD outbreaks in the region. “We only have two abattoirs in the province that adhere to the regulations to dispose of FMD [-infected] carcasses. Thus, an outbreak puts massive pressure on their slaughtering capacity.” – Susan Marais