Acts Online
GT Shield

Animal Diseases Act, 1984 (Act No. 35 of 1984)

Notices

Control Measures relating to Outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease

Part A: Immediate Measures on FMD Suspect and Confirmed Locations

7. Quarantine and Movement Control

 

7.1 Infected property:
7.1.1 The quarantined area may or may not coincide with property boundaries, depending on the epidemiological situation on the ground. It may be that there is a wider area in addition to the infected property which should be placed under quarantine.
7.1.2 If the disease is detected on a farm or premises that is well fenced, where movement control and contact with other animals can be effectively controlled or prevented, quarantine can be maintained on the individual premises or portions of the premises.
7.1.3 In communal areas, if one owner’s animals are infected, then the entire epidemiological unit will be quarantined.
7.1.4 In infected areas where free-roaming animals cannot be quarantined effectively, all efforts must be made by veterinary services to prevent movement of animals from the area.
7.1.5 Once a location has been confirmed positive for FMD, all cloven-hoofed animals on the premises will be regarded as potentially infected until proven otherwise, and quarantine of the premises will include all cloven-hoofed animals and their products.

 

7.2 Requirements in the area around infected property:
7.2.1 No movement of livestock may occur from farms directly neighbouring the infected property, as well as all epidemiologically linked locations. Such movement control must remain in place pending the results of clinical investigation.
7.2.2 Movement control, as set out in 7.2.1, to a second layer, or more layers, of neighbouring properties must be considered, depending on the epidemiological situation on the ground, the numbers and sizes of properties involved, geospatial conditions, the presence or absence of livestock activities on the properties and the length of time since the introduction of the disease into the area. Subject to conditions referred to in 7.1.2.

 

7.3 Surveillance area:
7.3.1 Clinical surveillance must be performed on all properties with cloven-hoofed livestock in a wider surveillance area around the quarantined area, for example in a 10 km radius (depending on the same factors as noted in 7.2.2 above).

 

7.4 Live cloven-hoofed animals may only move from FMD quarantined premises (including area under temporary movement control) with written permission from the state veterinarian and accompanied by a Veterinary Red Cross Permit issued in terms of the Animal Diseases Act, 1984 (Act No 35 of 1984). This red cross permit must indicate conditions (as provided in this document) under which movements are allowed and the individual identification numbers of all animals, or batch numbers of slaughter pigs, being transported. Stock removal certificates with the registered brand mark of the owner must also accompany each consignment (Section 6 and Section 8 certificates issued in terms of the Stock Theft Act, 1959 (Act No 57 of 1959)).

 

7.5 The most important consideration on suspicion or confirmation of FMD is to prevent its spread from the known infected locations as far as humanly possible.

 

7.6 Where very large properties or sections of land have epidemiologically separate areas, these must be evaluated by the state veterinarian, and a motivated proposal must be submitted to the Provincial Director for consideration and approval, if only a portion of the property is proven to be infected. The rest of the property will then be placed under movement control until the clear separation and negative status have been confirmed.

 

7.7 If a property in the quarantined area or surveillance area is found to be infected, that property will change status to an infected property, and both the area to be placed under quarantine and the surveillance area must be adjusted accordingly.