South Africa’s first bird flu outbreaks this year were “a preventable crisis”, FairPlay commented.
FairPlay founder Francois Baird said the strict conditions insisted on by the Department of Agriculture had delayed the start of a vaccination programme by nearly two years.
Baird warned that the first two outbreaks could be followed by many more in the winter months. This would not only hit poultry producers, as it would cost consumers dearly, particularly low-income households who would be disproportionately affected.
“It need not have happened,” Baird said.
“Vaccination – an essential weapon against bird flu – could have started two years ago. The country could have been well on the way by now to substantial immunity among the national chicken flock. Bureaucracy got in the way, and not one chicken has been vaccinated.
“The result is likely to be more spreading bird flu outbreaks, millions of chickens culled and huge losses for the poultry producers involved. The government has shirked its responsibility to pay for the chickens it orders culled, and it is fighting a court decision that says this must stop,” Baird said.
