Avian flu: DA calls for less talk and more action
6 October 2023
The DA notes the ongoing engagements between Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Thoko Didiza, and stakeholders in the poultry industry regarding the avian flu outbreak.
While talks are ongoing, farmers are losing their stock and are losing millions of rands every day.
We therefore call on the DALRRD to establish a workstream that will provide support to farmers, help get the industry back on track and fast track the procurement of vaccine supply for the H7N6 influenza.
Because South Africa is prone to avian flu outbreaks, it is simply unacceptable that - when this latest outbreak came about, South Africa was found flat-footed and ill-prepared for the disease. The blame lies squarely with the DALRRD as they are tasked with ensuring that the country has disease surveillance measures in place, including enough vaccine stock to deal with any outbreaks.