Veterinary organisations are irate about the government’s proposal requiring them to seek additional registration and approval from a private company, Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS), to participate in the national vaccination programme against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), as reported by The Witness on Friday.

“This provision is not only legally unsound but will actively hinder the national response by creating unnecessary bureaucracy and severe legal risks for the very professionals needed to fight the outbreak,” said the South African Veterinary Association (Sava) and the Ruminant Veterinary Association of South Africa (Ruvasa) in a joint statement on Thursday.

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The provision, part of the government’s newly drafted FMD Pre-emptive Vaccination Scheme, follows the Gauteng High Court’s dismissal of an urgent application seeking unregulated access to FMD vaccines.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said the ruling allows the government to maintain a co-ordinated response that protects both livestock and export markets.

Meanwhile, Southern Africa Agricultural Initiative board chair Theo de Jager said the legal case brought by the initiative, Sakeliga and Free State Agriculture over control of the vaccines, has highlighted how far removed the public service is.

Only 21 500 cattle have been vaccinated in the uMgungundlovu District and a few hundred in other districts, raising concerns among farmers and cattle owners in rural communities.

This comes despite the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announcing the completion of a large-scale vaccination drive in the Harry Gwala District, where more than 250 000 vaccines were administered across four municipalities.

The campaign covered both communal and commercial cattle using Biogénesis Bagó and Dollvet vaccines.

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Rollout gaps
While the department has hailed progress in the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, frustration is growing elsewhere.

In a poll shared by uMngeni Mayor Chris Pappas in a local farmers’ group on Wednesday, at least 89 farmers said by Thursday morning that they had not yet received any vaccine.

The results have raised concerns about gaps in the rollout, particularly in uMngeni and the wider uMgungundlovu District, where vaccination numbers remain comparatively low.

Earlier in the week, KZN Agricultural Union vice-president and Red Meat Producers Organisation provincial chairperson Angus Williamson told The Witness that new cases continue to emerge in areas where vaccines have not been administered.

He said, while most dairy farms have received vaccine, several large dairies and many commercial beef producers are still waiting.

According to the department, more than 306 000 vaccines have been administered in districts such as Harry Gwala and Ugu.

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However, progress elsewhere has lagged. Apart from the 21 500 cattle vaccinated in uMgungundlovu, only 3 200 have been inoculated in uThukela and just 140 in uMzinyathi.

Agriculture MEC Thembeni kaMadlopha-Mthethwa said vaccination campaigns are ongoing in several districts. She said some farms under the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development programme are still to be covered.

Meanwhile, efforts to contain the disease have extended to Amajuba District, where positive cases were detected at a pig farm near Dannhauser.

The department vaccinated 13 400 pigs and 4 200 cattle in the area.

The next major vaccination drive is scheduled for uMkhanyakude District from Monday, 30 March to 8 April.

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