Govt to stop culling FMD animals

Chakalisa Dube | Friday June 27, 2014 17:15

 

The deputy director in the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) Dr Kekgonne Baipoledi told journalists in Francistown yesterday that cattle in FMD zones will be vaccinated and not killed. “When we persist in killing animals, it means that animals that are genetically adapted  to an area may become extinct. So we want to avoid that by vaccinating all the animals in an affected area. A newly established purified vaccine which is an advanced version of a vaccine we used for vaccination in the past will be used to vaccinate the animals incase of an outbreak,” he explained in a media briefing to provide an update on the restocking exercise following an FMD outbreak in 2011.

The government decided to cull cattle following the outbreak. Over 60,000 animals were killed in a move that attracted criticism from farmers. Baipoledi said that restocking which started late last year is now 99.8% complete. “We are only left with restocking cattle for dairy farmers in the area,” he said. He said the government is still trying to source animals for the dairy farmers.

“As for the restocking exercise for the small stock, we are left with around 500 animals to complete the exercise,” he said.

Initially, owners of approximately 10,000 small stock out of the 25,000 culled were supposed to be given cash compensation. Another 14,257 were to be replaced, but later it was decided that, owners of 3,364 animals would receive cash.

Baipoledi said the ministry is still assessing the claims of farmers who lost animals after restocking. The animals died after failing to adapt to the new environment. Baipoledi said the animals spent over two months in an environment similar to those in the restocking zone in a bid to help them adapt. “We will investigate what could have led to the death of the animals and put in place measures to avoid a repeat,” he said.

He would not provide further details on the proposed replacement of the dead animals nor when the affected zone will begin slaughtering animals for the lucrative EU market.

“After the restocking initiative, we still have to consult with concerned stakeholders in order for the zone to be allowed back into the EU market. So I cannot give a specific time frame (for the EU market),” he explained.