Foot and mouth outbreak: Steenhuisen warns public against buying cows

Minister of agriculture John Steenhuisen warned the public in some parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal not to buy cows as the two provinces have been identified as hotspots for foot and mouth disease (FMD).

The minister said the warning is meant to contain the movement of cattle in order to control the spread of the disease. 

"There is a quarantine period now... but the sale of the animals outside out of the disease management area in KwaZulu-Natal, gazetted areas in Gauteng and Mpumalanga won't be possible because that's how we contain the spread.  We'll move to lift those restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so," Steenhuisen said.

“We need full cooperation from the public, producers and traders. If we follow the rules and act quickly, we can contain this outbreak. But it must be a collective national effort.”  

Speaking to Sowetan on Monday, as the country was preparing to receive 900,000 vaccines from Botswana to fight the livestock disease, Steenhuisen cautioned that the situation was becoming serious, particularly in KZN and Gauteng. 

“We shouldn't panic, but we do need to deal with it. It needs to become everybody's responsibility, not just farmers and feedlots. The meat is safe; it doesn't affect human beings at all. There’s no risk of transmission through consumption, but the outbreak does affect supply and we're already seeing meat price hikes.”  

Steenhuisen said the entire KZN with its herd of 1.2-million unvaccinated cattle is considered high risk while the East and West Rand in Gauteng have also been flagged. The Free State is currently under quarantine.

The presence of the FMD has impacted the trade with China which has already stopped exporting red meat from SA. 

Steenhuisen said the country currently does not produce its own FMD vaccines due to the collapse of state facilities that used to produce animal disease vaccines in the past.

The disease management areas in Kwazulu-Natal include Vryheid and Newcastle. In Mpumalanga is the Gert Sibande district while in Gauteng the identified areas include Heidelberg.

Dr Mpho Maja, director of animal health at the department, explained that just in KwaZulu-Natal alone, around 1.2-million cattle need to be vaccinated, each requiring three to four doses.  

“That number doesn’t include other provinces or major feedlots that are now infected. We are competing with the entire region for a limited vaccine supply from Botswana. We’re working to restore local vaccine production, but for now we rely on the Botswana Vaccine Institute,” she said. 

The state will spend R72m on the vaccine from Botswana. 

Last week, Karan Beef, the country’s largest beef producer, confirmed an FMD outbreak at its Heidelberg feedlot. 

“We are working closely with veterinary authorities and following structured protocols to contain the outbreak with urgency and responsibility. While the animals are not severely ill, the control measures are substantial and impactful across the industry,” said Dr Dirk Verwoerd of Karan Beef. 

According to Verwoerd, the Heidelberg facility, which is home to around 120,000 cattle and is responsible for 100-million kilograms of beef produced annually in the country, has already been placed under quarantine since May 30.  

Meanwhile, the Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) said it will activate a centralised operational centre to coordinate industry response.  

“This is a defining moment for the red meat industry. Our unified efforts today will shape a more secure, sustainable, and competitive future for the sector,” Dewald Olivier, CEO of RMIS, said.

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