Foot and Mouth disease

The Leader of the Opposition put a Private Notice Question to the Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security whether, in regard to the recent outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease, he will state the population of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs in Rodrigues and in mainland Mauritius respectively, as at June 2016, indicating –(a) the number culled as at to date; (b) if the breeders thereof in Rodrigues and in mainland Mauritius will receive the same compensation; (c) if the ban on imports thereof from Rodrigues will be effective for three years and the breeders thereof will receive assistance in relation thereto, and (d) if the responsibilities have now been established on the manner in which the ban issued on 29 July 2016 was handled and the imports thereof from Rodrigues were disembarked on 01 August, 2016.

In his reply the Minister of Agro Industry indicated : “The Division of Veterinary Services of my Ministry normally exercises a very strict control to ensure that live animals and meat imported in Mauritius originate from countries where there are no contagious diseases. The Fact-Finding Committee which the Government has agreed to set up will surely shed light on the possible causes of the entry of this disease in Rodrigues and which will also be called upon to situate responsibility regarding the importation of the consignment of the infected cattle from Rodrigues on 01 August 2016.

The consignment of infected animals which reached Mauritius in cattle containers on 01 August 2016 was immediately transferred to the Richelieu Quarantine Station where the animals were kept under observation. As soon as symptoms of the disease were detected and analysis of blood samples at the Animal Health Laboratory in Réduit has established the presence of the disease, decision was taken to cull all the animals at Richelieu Quarantine Station and in some farms at Vallée des Prêtres and Cité La Cure.

This week, culling has been done in infected farms at Highlands and Notre Dame. An infected animal at Camp La Boue, Terre Rouge was culled yesterday. In all, some 681 animals have been culled so far in Mauritius.’  The vaccination campaign started on Monday 21 August after receipt of the 20,000 available doses of vaccines during the weekend and 10,000 of these vaccines were sent to Rodrigues.

‘My Ministry has made a request for assistance to the FAO to help us cope with the current situation. The FAO has agreed to provide necessary assistance. The Indian Ocean Commission has also agreed to extend assistance to us to deal with this problem. I had a meeting today with the Health and Surveillance Unit of the IOC whereby technical assistance had been obtained for a team of foreign veterinary officers to help us in the implementation of the vaccination campaign.’

Mahen Seeruttun added that he had a meeting with the President and representatives of the Jummah Mosque on Thursday 19 August in the context of the forthcoming Eid-Ul-Adha festival. A number of issues have been discussed and decisions taken to ensure that the festival takes place in the best conditions. He also informed the House that ‘as at June 2016, the overall population of cattle, sheep/goats and pigs is as follows - (i) In Rodrigues - Cattle: 11,000; Sheep and goats: 29, 000; Pigs: 10,000  (ii) In Mauritius: Cattle: 6,447; Sheep/goats: 28,804; Pigs: 21,235;