Nationwide ban on the movement of cattle remains in place
Minister of Agriculture Thoko Didiza has extended a nationwide ban on the movement of cattle following a foot-and-mouth outbreak.
The ban on the movement of cattle will remain in place after new outbreaks of foot-and-mouth have been detected.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development reported 11 new outbreaks in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Gauteng.
“This brings the total number of infected properties to 127,” says the department’s spokesperson Reggie Ngcobo.
Ngcobo says the decision to ban the movement of cattle is expected to be reviewed at the end of next week.
"These new cases were likely already on the farms at the time when the standstill was initiated, and some are neighbors of already infected properties with contiguous spread.”
19 000 cattle have been vaccinated in Gauteng, 26 073 in Mpumalanga and 2 500 in KwaZulu-Natal.
Ngcobo has defended the decision to extend the ban, adding that the department “regrets the economic impact of the disease on farming enterprises.”
“This decision was not taken lightly, the medium to long term impact on the livestock industry was at the center of the decision.”
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