Agriculture
(1) (a) How important is it for stock farmers to be regularly updated on the presence of identified cases of foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa and in neighbouring countries and (b)(i) where can stock farmers access such data and (ii) how often is this information updated;
(2) whether there are early indications that the recently announced ban on the movement of cattle has been effective in stemming the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether the Western Cape is still free from cases of foot-and-mouth disease; if not, what are the relevant details?
[1] [a] It is very important for livestock farmers to be aware of current and new foot-and-mouth [FMD] cases. This way, they can make informed decisions when it comes to purchasing livestock by avoiding infected areas. They can also take precautionary measures early on in order to prevent their farms from being infected if the disease is in their area.
[b][i] Information about new foot and mouth disease cases can be found on the National Animal Health Forum Website https://nahf.co.za / [“Update Report: Foot and Mouth Disease Outbreak”]. (ii)These are reports issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development [DALRRD] approximately weekly. Information on outbreaks reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health can be accessed on the World Animal Health Information System website [wahis.woah.org].
[2] Since the incubation period of the disease can be up to 14 days, it is difficult to say whether the shutdown is effective. In theory, this should slow the spread of the disease as the disease has, so far, been mainly spread by the movement of cattle. There have been outbreaks detected in other provinces since the start of the movement ban, but this is not unexpected, given the incubation period.
