But various local animal production representative organisations are still in the dark as to exactly which concerns the OIE wanted the SA government to address.
Agriculture minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has still not responded to calls for the OIE’s initial reports on the state of animal health in SA to be made public.
Annette Steyn, DA spokesperson on agriculture, accused the minister of putting thousands of agricultural jobs in jeopardy, and also of losing the SA livestock sector R4 billion/year, by not revealing the OIE’s reports.
Steyn and the Red Meat Industry Forum, among others, have repeatedly tried to obtain the OIE’s recommendations for having SA’s foot-and-mouth-disease-free status reinstated.
Since SA lost its FMD-free status in early 2011, the country has been prohibited from exporting any live cloven-hoofed animals and their raw products.
“Nobody knows if DAFF has implemented the OIE’s recommendations because DAFF has not been keeping the various relevant livestock organisations informed,” said Steyn.
Twitter: @PhillipsLM
