Livestock dealers protest fresh cattle quarantine

Some of the affected districts include Kiruhura, Lyantonde , Kalungu, Sembabule, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Kiryandongo, Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Masindi and Mbarara. Others are Bukedea,Rakai,Gomba,Koboko, Mukono, Rubirizi ,Serere and Ibanda.

In the last four years, the Ministry of Agriculture has kept a quarantine in place in many cattle corridor districts following repeated FMD outbreaks.

FMD is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed or divided-hooves animals.

In Kalungu, the quarantine restrictions have been imposed on Lukaya Town Council and other areas within a radius of 20km .

Mr Sam Mutebi, a cattle dealer in Kalungu, claims that the 20km radius announced by the Ministry of Agriculture is unrealistic since it targets almost half of the district at a time when residents want to send their children back to school.

“It is true FMD was detected in Lukaya Town, but why cause other sub counties to suffer? I am seeing sabotage. Farmers in other areas should not suffer at the expense of some few individuals with selfish intentions,” Mr Mutebi said on Sunday.

Half of population affected
Kalungu has seven sub-counties and more than 50 per cent of the residents depend on animal products .

“We call upon government to reconsider the decision and at least enforce the quarantine in only the affected few areas where veterinary teams have been deployed to minimise the spread of the disease,” Mr Leonard Makya Ssalongo, the chairperson of meat sellers in Lukaya Town Council, said.

Mr Wasswa Male Miranga ,the spokesperson of meat sellers in the  area, said targeting half of the district is affecting livelihoods of many residents.

“Our children are yet to report to school and we don’t have money to pay school fees,”  Mr Miranga said.
He said their efforts to buy beef from other areas not affected by FMD have also been frustrated.

Authorities have also blocked meat dealers from ferrying beef from Lyantonde, where more than 500 animals are infected with FMD, to the neigbouring Lwengo District.
However, Mr Caleb Tukaikiriza, the Kalungu Resident District Commissioner, dismissed the sabotage allegations, saying the quarantine was imposed after a thorough investigation by a technical team.

“More than 80 per cent of the cattle and animal products go through Lukaya Town Council, and that is why we zeroed in on that area. We have no intentions of paralysing people’s businesses. Efforts are being made to ensure that all animals are vaccinated and we contain the disease,” he said.  

Mr Sam Asiimwe, a cattle trader in Sembabule, said during a stakeholders meeting in Mpigi District in 2018, it was agreed that the quarantine be reduced to specific sub-counties where the disease has been reported.
“But this is not what they [government ] are following ,” he said.

Mr Yorokamu Bagabo, a livestock  farmer in Dyango Town Council, Rakai,  attributed the continuous FMD outbreaks to cross-border cattle movements from Tanzania.

“The cross border movements of cattle in Rakai and Isingiro districts has continued leading to the spread of the disease in other cattle corridor districts as authorities watch,” he said.

Mr Kenneth Kugumisiriza, another farmer from Sembabule,  accused government of failing to employ  preventive measures.

“There is a serious weakness in the line ministry because they are aware of the source of FMD , but instead of establishing an isolation centre or a holding ground at the border where screening of livestock can be done before allowing them to enter Uganda, they are emphasising vaccination, which is costly,” he said.

Efforts to reach the State Minister for Animal Industry, Mr  Bright Rwamirama, and the commissioner of Animal Health, Dr Anne Rose Ademun, were futile as they did not answer our repeated calls .However, veterinary officials from the affected districts warned farmers against taking the outbreak lightly.

 “Farmers who are blaming the government are the ones who use the porous borders and bring sick livestock into the country. Government can’t be everywhere, it should be a combined effort to prevent the spread of FMD,” Dr Godfrey Kimbugwe, the Kyotera veterinary officer, said.

His Sembabule counterpart, Dr Angello Ssali, asked livestock farmers and dealers to work together with veterinary officers to reduce the spread.

“Their [farmers] decision to oppose the quarantine is not good for their business because a quarantine aims at saving their livestock . What will they sell if all the animals are wiped out by this disease? ” he asked.

Perennial
The first FMD outbreak in Uganda was recorded in 1953. Since then, the outbreaks occur annually.
 
In 2014, FMD hit about 30 districts across the country and government imposed quarantine on the sale of beef and other dairy products. The quarantine was lifted six months later.

The disease struck again last year and several livestock farmers in the cattle corridor districts  lost a number of animals.

Section 7 and Section 29 of Animal Diseases (Amendment) Act 2005 states that no person shall remove from a place of quarantine any animal, carcass, fodder, wool, butter, ghee or dung except with the sanction of inspecting officer.

A person who contravenes such rules is liable to a fine not exceeding Shs100,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding a month or both.

Veterinary officers aim for vaccination

Dr Erias Kizito Nsubuga, the Rakai veterinary officer, said they are waiting for a consignment of vaccines to prevent the spread of FMD.

“We shall roll out vaccination after government has dispatched vaccines to the district because veterinary officers are working together to see that FMD is defeated,” he said.

He appealed to livestock farmers to avoid any acts that may fuel the spread of the disease  and implement  all the recommended  measures.

Dr Kaddu Nsubuga, the Gomba veterinary officer, said his team has  already vaccinated more than 20,000 head of cattle, and are on alert because the district neighbours Sembabule and Lyantonde which have many.

“People don’t know the dynamics at the borders during dry spells. The cattle cross to either side of the border and it’s difficult to stop movements of livestock given the porous nature of our borders,” he said.

 Dr Ronald Bameka, the Lyantonde veterinary officer, said they have so far vaccinated 98 per cent of animals in the badly-hit Kasagama Sub-county.

“We are considering lifting the ban on  transportation of milk in sub-counties which are not affected, but with specific guidelines. Our farmers should know that FMD is not originating from Tanzania. The disease has become  endemic and the only solution is persistent vaccination,” he said.

Compiled by; Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa , Wilson Kutamba ,Paul Ssekandi &Dan Wandera

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