There is an urgent need for the South African government and the poultry industry to find a solution to the impasse which is preventing vaccination against bird flu.
FairPlay founder Francois Baird said in a Kaya FM interview that the department of agriculture had set conditions for vaccination permits so high that chicken producers, big and small could not meet them.
As a result, no vaccinations were taking place and the poultry industry was trying to avoid another disaster such as the 2023 outbreak, which cost producers R9.5 billion.
Next winter, bird flu would be back, Baird warned. The government’s “take it or leave it” attitude on vaccination requirements was not the answer.
“There has to be a meeting of minds. Departmental officials and the poultry industry must find a way to make it happen.”
He suggested, jokingly, that perhaps the two sides should be locked in a room and told they couldn’t leave until they had found a solution to the problem.
That joke illustrated the seriousness of the situation.
