More than 90% of the cattle herd in South Africa has been vaccinated against FMD
This surpasses the government's 80% vaccination target by the end of December 2026.
More than 90% of South Africa's cattle herd has been vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease, surpassing the government's target of 80% by December 2026. Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp announced this significant progress at the Agricultural Writers SA National awards in Johannesburg. This vaccination effort has helped contain the outbreak and protect the livestock industry, preventing meat prices from skyrocketing.
FMD is a severe, highly contagious viral illness affecting cloven-hoofed livestock and wild animals. The ministry reported that over 22 million vaccine doses have been purchased and distributed, with the private sector vaccinating about four million cattle and the state vaccinating nearly 11 million cattle. The department encourages private livestock producers to voluntarily self-vaccinate their cattle, a move that resulted from a legal settlement allowing private companies to join the vaccination campaign.
Aucamp emphasized that reaching a 90% vaccination rate is a great achievement for the agriculture sector, demonstrating the positive results of collaboration between the government and the private sector. The decline in new FMD outbreaks highlights the effectiveness of these control efforts. The state veterinary services will continue large-scale vaccination campaigns, and farmers can voluntarily register online to vaccinate their cattle.
Vaccines can be ordered online and delivered within 24 hours. Farmers are urged to register on the department's website or those of the Red Meat Industry Services and Buffalo Analytics to procure vaccines for self-vaccination.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
