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Cattle grazing on a farm.
Communal farmers in Xigalo Village, near Malamulele in Limpopo, are continuing to lose livestock at an unprecedented rate due to the Foot-and-Mouth disease.
Xigalo is among the areas situated along the redline zone due to its proximity to the Kruger National Park.
The farmers say their livestock is infected by stray buffaloes that roam the area, grazing with their livestock.
Many farmers in the village and surrounding villages depend on livestock farming as a means of survival.
Teeming with quality grazing lands, the village is conducive to cattle farming and goat rearing.
However, farmers have been losing livestock as the Foot and Mouth disease continues to ravage many parts of the province.
The farmers say many of their cows and bulls have shown symptoms such as blisters around the mouths and hooves, as well as excessive salivation.
They say that some of their animals have also been attacked by what looks like lumpy skin disease.
Eric Makhubele, a farmer in the area, says, “We just started seeing our cattle losing weight, limping and being lumpy. They also lost their appetite. As you can see, the young one is not even eating at the moment. The other one just started limping today. However, it can still eat. The last one cannot even walk”.
The farmers say stray buffaloes and other wild animals have easy access to their grazing lands due to a broken veterinary fence.
Buffaloes are primary carriers of Foot-and-Mouth disease.
Another farmer in the area, David Maluleke, says, “We do have wild animals like buffaloes, wildebeests and zebras in our area because we are close to the red line. These wild animals interact with our livestock, and they get infected with different infections, like foot and mouth disease”.
The farmers are calling on the Department of Agriculture to fast-track the vaccination of livestock. Freddy Chavani, also a farmer in the area, says, ” It’s been years since our cattle got vaccinated. Now, it’s May, and they were supposed to have been vaccinated in February, but even today, they are not vaccinated because cattle dipping inspectors do not come to our area to assist us with vaccinating our livestock. That is why now they are infected, and we do not even know how to treat them”.
The Department of Agriculture says its vaccination drive in Limpopo is on track.
Farmers in other redline areas in Limpopo, such as Niani outside Musina, are also counting the cost.
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