Beyond Vaccines: FOUR PAWS Advocates for Sustainable Farming to Curb Future Animal Disease Outbreaks
As Foot and Mouth Disease resurfaces, FOUR PAWS highlights industrial farming and long-distance transport as key risk factors.
Cape Town 07 July 2025 – Following World Zoonoses Day (6 July), which recognises the inextricable link between animal health and human health, FOUR PAWS South Africa has reiterated its position on the urgent need to prevent future disease outbreaks by reforming current animal farming systems.
The recent Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in South Africa and the government’s emergency vaccine response underline the importance of addressing the root causes of such crises. The Department of Agriculture’s efforts to roll out vaccines, supported by Botswana, are welcomed by FOUR PAWS.
“We are deeply troubled by the loss of animal lives resulting from the foot and mouth disease outbreaks. Emergency killings in connection with disease outbreaks should only ever be carried out if absolutely necessary to avoid the suffering of infected animals, and never preventatively in healthy animals,” says Fiona Miles, Director, FOUR PAWS South Africa.
FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. It is spread through saliva, vesicle discharge, contaminated surfaces, people, and vehicles, and can even travel via wind. The disease’s spread is worsened by centralised farming systems, high stocking densities, and long-distance transport of live animals.
While vaccination is a key strategy, its effectiveness depends on strain-matched vaccines and maintaining the cold chain. In Southern Africa, SAT1, SAT2, and SAT3 strains must be addressed directly. Routine vaccination must be paired with strict movement control and surveillance measures to be effective. “Preventive biosecurity measures need to be improved and better enforced, and serotype-tailored vaccination programmes are needed in order to protect animals from infection with FMD and avoid culling,” Miles stated.
FMD is not a zoonotic disease, but the outbreak highlights how modern industrial farming systems increase the risk of zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza, antimicrobial resistance, and future pandemics. “We need to rethink food systems. Factory farming, centralised production
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FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org.za