The Department of Agriculture has announced the countrys first mass vaccination of poultry to prevent local birds from contracting avian flu.
This follows several warnings from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which has called for urgent government intervention to prevent an outbreak like the one that ravaged the poultry industry in 2023 .
Agriculture Minister John Stenhuisen says South Africa does not have an outbreak of avian flu at the moment but theyve seen an uptick in avian flu cases around the world.
What we are trying to do is to prevent the devastation that could come if theres an outbreak and that will be the purpose of the vaccination. To build up the immunity of the local flock of this pathogenic avian affluenza. Looking at international best practices. Looking at other countries around the world where vaccination has taken place, says Steenhuisen.
We have made a decision in collaboration with the poultry association in South Africa to embark upon this process. Obviously, this will help in providing a blueprint of how we deal with prevention of avian flu in South Africa, he adds.
