Red Meat Industry activates Operational Centre to counter Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak

RED Meat Industry Services (RMIS) said on Friday that it will activate a centralised Operational Centre (OC) at its headquarters on Monday in response to the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak.

- YOGASHEN PILLAY

RMIS said the OC will be led by a designated RMIS veterinarian and will oversee a team of veterinary professionals and industry representatives, along with a specialist public relations and public affairs agency, forming the FMD Working Group. “The FMD Working Group will be mandated to develop and implement a structured, time-bound response to the outbreak, with mediumto long-term goals, including a focus on vaccination among other key areas.”

The primary objective of this plan is to guide RMIS in addressing the current FMD situation in South Africa, with a strong focus on protecting red meat role players to ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of the industry.

“This is critical not only for the red meat sector, but also for South Africa's broader agricultural economy, as the outbreak impacts the entire red meat value chain and poses a serious threat to the dairy industry and other sectors connected to red meat production,” it said.