The Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO) has said that they support the drastic measures to place a temporary ban on auctions and shows of cloven-hoofed animals.
This is due to the recent food-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Limpopo.
Chairman of the RPO, Koos van der Ryst, describes the ban as a preventative measure as non-compliance will lead to a national disaster.
“It is critical that the extent of the outbreak must be determined as a matter of urgency as the authorities and industry work together to ensure this. Additional capacity must be created to deal with the foot-and-mouth outbreak.”
Van der Ryst added that “we must now invest in the industry and launch extraordinary actions to secure the future of the industry. Proposals for establishing a voluntary traceability system for the cattle industry will be launched in January 2020”.
His sentiments come in the wake of a recent finding that 11 commercial properties had been infected in Molemole, Limpopo. – Zoë van Rooyen
