Bukedea cattle farmers defy FMD quarantine

Farmers in Bukedea District have defied the quarantine imposed on the area by the government over Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and started selling their cattle in open markets.

On January 25, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries imposed a quarantine on the district after confirming FMD in the two sub-counties of Aminit and Kamutur.

So far, the district has been under quarantine for three months. But the government is yet to carry out mass livestock vaccination as promised. As a result, the farmers say they have no option but to defy the quarantine since they are losing out on their source of livelihood.

Business at Bukedea cattle market is ongoing despite the ban.

Mr Sam Moko, a farmer in Kasoka Village, Bukedea Sub-county, said no financial incentives have since been given to farmers who heavily depend on livestock for their livelihood.

“We ask the government to help us remove the quarantine, we have been forced to sell our cattle because the government has shown its inability to deliver the vaccines,” he said.
 
Mr Alfred Ebacu, another farmer, said it was counterproductive for the government to put the district under quarantine when it can’t administer vaccines to control the purported outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
 
“Many of us are reliant on cattle, a prolonged quarantine means we get affected a lot,” he explained.
 
He added that they cannot wait for vaccines that are not forthcoming.
 
However, Dr Francis Ongelech, the district veterinary officer, said the livestock quarantine is still ongoing, and warned whoever is trying to break the rules aimed at containing the outbreak.
 
“It is illegal for farmers to defy the quarantine because we have not yet received any communication from the ministry, advising us to have the quarantine lifted,” he said.

He added that the few registered cases in the sub-counties of Aminit and Kamutur have been handled.
 
“I am in touch with the ministry and we requested 20,000 doses of vaccine for foot and mouth disease, after receiving the vaccine, we shall vaccinate all the animals in the district as we wait for the ministry’s final decision,” Mr Ongelech added.
 
He said those involved in the transportation and the sale of animals are doing it illegally.
 
Mr William Wilberforce Tukei, the RDC, also said no single cattle market has been authorised to sell cattle in the district.
 
“I want to ask the people of Bukedea to abide by the ministry directives, those defying the orders will be arrested,” he added.

More than 30 districts in cattle corridor districts are still under quarantine over the same disease,

Background
Cattle corridor districts have suffered a rampant outbreak of FMD since 2018 . The first FMD outbreak in Uganda was recorded in 1953. Since then, they occur annually and do not seem to follow a particular pattern.

A couple of years ago, livestock experts asked government to investigate the various strains of FMD virus to avert further outbreaks.

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