Govt to kill FMD infected goats and sheep

Agriculture Minister Christiaan De Graaff revealed this on Monday when addressing farmers during a leadership and stakeholders' workshop on the FMD situation in the containment zone. According to De Graaff, the number of small stock targeted for depopulation is estimated at 30,000.

Following an outbreak of FMD in Zone 6 in 2011, the government took a decision to eradicate the epidemic by establishing a containment zone and depopulating cattle in the entire zone. A series of FMD surveys in the disease susceptible animals remaining in the zone revealed that small stock (goats and sheep) have also been affected including wild animals such as impalas and kudus. According to the minister, the surveillance further revealed that the disease is restricted to the eastern part of Zone 6.