The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) “is confident that the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a temporary setback”, and is working with industries to motivate the resumption of trade in safe products. The department has however reiterated that no live cloven-hoofed animals may be moved within the area affected by foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Vhembe District. This follows the recent outbreak of the disease in Vhembe and Capricorn Districts in Limpopo. “No live cloven-hoofed animals are allowed to move into, within, through and out of the area. Law enforcement has been reinforced and any animals found to be moved around will be confiscated by the police and destroyed,” the department said. A technical task team has agreed to limit the area being vaccinated to make the long-term management of the disease easier, provided this does not compromise the disease control efforts. The task team also agreed to increase police visibility and provide feed for the affected villages in order to limit the movements and interactions of animals at grazing sites. “Two sets of teams have started work in the area. Seventeen vaccination teams working in the possibly infected areas are conducting inspections and vaccinations, and four inspection teams are working in the ‘clean’ area to determine the extent of the outbreak,” according to the department.
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Daff is working with industries to motivate the resumption of trade in safe products.
