Question NW1404 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
19 May 2022 - NW1404
Ntlangwini, Ms EN to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
What (a) measures have been put in place to contain the recent spread of Foot-and Mouth- Disease and (b) are the reasons that her department has not built a proper fence along the Kruger National Park to prevent buffalos from interacting with cattle from the surrounding villages of the Collins Chabane Local Municipality and thus contain the spread of the specified disease?
Reply:
a) Affected dip tanks were placed under quarantine, while the animals in and around the affected dip tanks were subjected to clinical inspections, blood tests, vaccination and movement restrictions. The Disease Management Areas in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal will be enlarged accordingly. Where affected farms are well fenced, the farms and adjacent properties are under quarantine, with clinical inspections and blood tests continuing. Vaccination and controlled slaughter are allowed on a case by case basis. Forward and backward tracing continue in order to identify any other possibly infected properties without delay. There is intensified clamp down on illegal importation of animals or illegal movement out of the Food and Mouth Disease (FMD) controlled areas. The animals involved are destroyed, while the perpetrators are prosecuted for contravention of the Animal Diseases Act. Communication and awareness creation have been increased.
b) There is a fence on the western and southern boundaries of the Kruger National Park, which has been maintained by the Department for many years. Challenges, such as vandalism of fences, theft of the fencing material, damage caused by elephants and floods lead to continuous breakdown of these fences. The current FMD outbreaks in North-West Province, Free State Province and Gauteng Province are not related to recent buffalo escapes from the Kruger National Park, but to illegal movement of cloven-hoofed animals out of the northern FMD controlled areas in Limpopo Province.