South Africa: ‘Broken’ animal disease controls reach crisis levels
A government-appointed task team has warned in a damning report that the country’s veterinary and animal disease controls are “broken” and in a state of “crisis” that threatens the viability of SA’s livestock industry.
The shocking final report of the task team, which was appointed by Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza in 2021, carries a date stamp of 18 May 2022, but was widely released this week.
It said a common thread running through all the interviews of the task team with industry stakeholders, government officials and research establishments was that the “veterinary system and animal biosecurity system is broken”.
“In its current format and design it poses a major threat to the future of inclusive growth in the livestock industry in South Africa.”
The report said the evidence of the broken system could be ascribed to “systemic (institutional) issues, legislative constrains, budget problems, a trust deficit, non-alignment between stakeholders and execution and implementation failures”.
“It is our observation that everyone – farmers, auctioneers, abattoirs, feedlots, industry bodies, veterinarians, education institutions, the minister, director-general, provincial authorities, traditional authorities – all agree that animal biosecurity in South Africa is in a crisis, and they all correctly diagnose the elements of the crisis.”
Nick Wilson | News 24
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