Bird Flu and FMD Vaccinations in South Africa: Industry Calls for Faster Action
Farmers Magazine | 19.02.2026 19:18
Last year, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen promised large-scale vaccinations for both the cattle and poultry industries, targeting foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in cattle and bird flu in chickens. While some progress has been made in the FMD vaccination programme, bird flu vaccinations remain largely stalled. To date, only one farm in South Africa has vaccinated chickens against the disease, despite the poultry sector losing billions of rands in 2023 and culling millions of birds due to outbreaks.
