Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has announced the lifting of foot-and-mouth disease restrictions in KwaZulu-Natal
Image: Courtney Africa / independent Newspapers
Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has announced the lifting of foot-and-mouth disease restrictions in KwaZulu-Natal, despite the virus continuing to spread across the province.
This comes as livestock, farmers, and industry groups have been calling for urgent changes to the restrictions, warning that the ongoing Disease Management Area in KwaZulu-Natal has severely disrupted the livestock value chain and cut off critical income for both commercial and small-scale farmers.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, the minister said the decision follows updated disease surveillance data, which shows that foot-and-mouth disease has spread beyond the original Disease Management Area.
"Today, I am announcing the formal lifting of the foot-and-mouth disease restrictions within the KwaZulu-Natal Disease Management Area. This decision is not merely administrative; it is rooted in a shift in the epidemiological story of the province," Steenhuisen said.
He added, "By 2026, the reality on the ground changed significantly, with FMD outbreaks spreading to all districts across KwaZulu-Natal."
"Ironically, our data now shows that the very areas tucked inside the DMA have seen fewer outbreaks compared to the regions outside its borders. We find ourselves in a position where there is more evidence of the virus circulating in the rest of the province than within the restricted management area itself".
Steenhuisen said that the lifting of the Disease Management Area does not mean a relaxation of controls. He said the government will now introduce a single set of movement and biosecurity regulations for all cloven-hoofed animals in KwaZulu-Natal, supported by expanded vaccination efforts.
"We must also consider the human and economic cost of these measures. Our farmers within the DMA have been economically burdened by these movement restrictions, facing challenges that their neighbours in other districts, and indeed other provinces with equally unstable infections, have not had to face."
"To continue with separate, localised rules for different parts of the same province has become scientifically and ethically difficult to justify. It is no longer fair to ask these specific farmers to carry a burden that is now a province-wide challenge."
mthobisi.nozulela@iol.co.za
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