FairPlay has called on the South African government to act with urgency on the issue of bird flu vaccination.
The advocacy group says that the mass vaccination programme that Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen promised has not been put into effect by officials who refuse to alter vaccination requirements that poultry producers say are too onerous and too costly to implement.
Negotiations to get a more practical and affordable set of rules have failed, and the programme has stalled. As a result, the South African poultry industry remains vulnerable to a repeat of the disastrous 2023 bird flu outbreak.