Dr Pieter Vervoort, veterinarian and Managing Director of the National Animal Health Forum, says roleplayers should be purposeful in this decision and if the risk of the spread of the disease is high they should avoid assembling animals. Gatherings of these animals, including at auctions, livestock shows, and speculative transactions, are discouraged. He says that is the reason the Department of Agriculture decided to temporarily ban live auctions in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, and North West. OFM News’ Christal-Lize Muller spoke to him…

He says the foot-and-mouth disease is highly transmittable from infected animals to other animals. That is why the congregation of animals from different resources are banned because of the disease that spreads so easily.  He says livestock speculators are another source of infection, which poses a high risk of infection and the distribution of infected animals.

According to him, feedlots also pose a risk, but the fact that these animals are predominantly intended for abattoirs results in limited distribution. However, this involves large financial losses for feedlots. Vervoort says abattoirs are also a gathering point for animals, but the risk of infected animals distributed to other farms is lower.

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