A shortage of vaccines for livestock in the country has prompted calls from farmers, horse owners, agriculture and animal welfare organisations for government to privatise the production of vaccines.
This comes in the midst of reported “supply challenges” at state-owned Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), whose mandate is to manufacture animal vaccines to prevent and control diseases that impact food security, human health and livelihoods.
OBP is the only institution in the country with registered animal vaccine strains to manufacture vaccines against African horse sickness, Rift Valley fever and blue-tongue diseases for livestock in the country.
The DA has submitted a petition to Parliament asking Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza to release OBP vaccine strains to the private sector so it can assist with the production of vaccines to save the livestock industry and protect food security.
Noko Masipa, the DA spokesperson on agriculture, land reform and rural development, said the livestock industry was going through a difficult time largely as a result of the shortage of vaccines.
"Almost every day, videos and pictures of dying horses are circulating and farmers are calling for help, with no success. Despite repeatedly reporting these issues to the minister, the portfolio committee in Parliament and the department’s director general, our efforts have been flatly ignored. Task teams have been put together, but nothing has come out of it or anything tangible been implemented. This inaction prompted farmers and the Democratic Alliance to launch the petition to shine the spotlight on the ever-growing problem of vaccines," said Masipa.
Lins Rautenbach, a horse owner who has been affected by the vaccine shortage, said many livelihoods had been negatively impacted.
"I am part of informal WhatsApp and Facebook groups which deal with African horse sickness. African horse sickness this year has been brutal. We have been battling. We are sitting with a problem with a notifiable disease which is devastating to the industry. Horses are not only owned by the wealthy and elite; there is another sector like the township carthorse people. This is their livelihood and their animals started getting sick. Where do these people get the money to test their horses?
“ It can cost up to R4 000. This situation has devastated so many lives because people have relied on horses for their income. The horses pull carts with coal and wood. When a horse dies where do they get the money to get another horse? This industry creates so many jobs, including in farms and horse racing, etc. When you start having stable yards that have seven horses that have died it is not profitable. Every horse that dies results in jobs being lost. The suffering the horses go through is terrible. They die horrific deaths," said Rautenbach.
James Faber, chairperson of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO), said the shortage of vaccines had caused a state of disaster in the industry.
"Commercial and emerging producers are now suffering serious losses due to blue-tongue outbreaks which cause up to 50% mortality among herds and African horse sickness among horses and donkeys which play a supporting role in the production process of red meat," he said.
He said the RPO had warned and predicted that this would happen due OBP being the only supplier.
"It is tragic and this could have been prevented if the proposed feasibility action steps had been taken by the authorities. The authorities have let the industry down," said Faber.
He said vaccines must be produced by more than one service provider in order to discount risk and ensure competitiveness.
"Certain vaccines can be produced with the help of the private sector or produced under a licence on behalf of OBP. Although it is already too late, everything possible must be done to prevent national pandemics,” said Faber.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development did not respond to questions related to the matter by the time of publication.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE