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The livestock sector in the Free State continues to be battered by the Food and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak, now reaching a total of 194 cases across 18 district areas during the festive season within the province.
The Department of Agriculture in the Free State recently announced that 45 more cases have been confirmed in 12 areas, failure to adhere to the restrictions imposed on farmers by the department to prevent movement of livestock, has sky rocketed the cases.
According to the department, the affected areas include Heilbron (1), Deneysville/Sasolburg (6), Cornelia/Frankfort/Villiers (9), Tweeling (1), Bethlehem (3), Reitz (3), Vrede/Memel (9), Warden (3), Qwa-qwa/Harrismith (2), Hlohlolwane/ Clocolan (6), Senekal (1), Odendaalsrus/Welkom (1).
The department says it has implemented movement restrictions on all farms within a 10 kilometres radius of the infected farms, and that all infected farms have been placed under quarantine. Farmers within the radius have also been notified.
The outbreak is affecting the economy of the province adversely and farmers are getting frustrated by the day as the assault on their pockets continues.
“The longer surveillance has to continue, the longer precautionary quarantines will remain in place; increasing both the financial impact on farmers and the economic impact on the Free State Province as a whole. With unity, transparency, and cooperation, we can overcome this outbreak and safeguard both our livestock sector and our economy,” said Moliehi Moeng, the Communication Director for the Department of Agriculture in the Free State.
The Minister for Agriculture Mr John Steenhuisen is set to update the nation on the status of FMD across the country on Wednesday, 14 January 2026. Steenhuisen says he will also be outlining the strategy and timelines to vaccinate the national herd in order to achieve an FMD free status through vaccination from the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH).
