South Africa’s poultry producers are arguing that vaccinating chickens against bird flu should be accorded the same government priority as the successful rollout of a nation-wide programme to vaccinate cattle against foot and mouth disease.
In an article in the latest Poultry Bulletin, the official journal of the SA Poultry Association (SAPA), SAPA’s Izaak Breitenbach called on new agriculture minister Willie Aucamp to take urgent action to expedite bird flu vaccination.
Breitenbach welcomed the new vaccination protocol for the beef sector, and urged a similar approach to the poultry sector.
He said the cattle vaccination programme, hailed by industry leaders, would shield livestock farmers from devastating disease outbreaks.
“Yet from the SAPA perspective I must ask: why is the poultry industry – far larger and more vital to our nation’s food security – still waiting in the wings for a similar lifeline against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)?”
Breitenbach said the poultry sector employed more than 100 000 people directly, and contributed R74 billion annually to the country’s GDP “dwarfing beef’s scale”. In 2023 alone, avian flu outbreaks necessitated the culling of millions of chickens and cost the industry billions of rand.
“Those in the know argue that regulatory hurdles for poultry vaccination against HPAI have been inexplicably onerous. Only one producer, the country’s largest, was able to navigate the labyrinthine protocols due to having more resources than the average producer. Smaller farmers are utterly exposed.
“Why the double standard?” Breitenbach asked.
Vaccination protocols for foot and mouth disease (FMD) emphasised risk-managed vaccination with traceability. Bird flu vaccination required the same “yet faces endless delays over biosecurity nitpicks and restrictions,” he said.
“Government, take heed: it’s time to mirror the FMD swiftness for avian flu.
“Streamline approvals for locally trialled vaccines, empower provincial vets for rollout, and provide those vaccines to farmers at no cost, as with FMD. Import vaccine tech if needed as with FMD.
“Another outbreak could cripple us irreparably,” Breitenbach warned.
He said the poultry industry was not asking the government to compromise on safety, surveillance or traceability.
“We are asking for proportionality, practicality and urgency. The lesson from FMD is simple: government cannot fight animal disease alone. Neither can industry. If we can build a workable vaccination channel for cattle, we can build one for poultry.
“We urge the new minister of agriculture to take immediate action and expedite avian flu vaccination now. Protect jobs, protect farmers big and small, and protect the consumers who rely on us.
“Equitable policy isn’t charity – it’s an economic imperative,” Breitenbach concluded.
