SA poultry industry to save billions with new HPAI vaccination policy

South Africa’s poultry industry will save billions under a new policy allowing highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccinations and shifting away from mass cullings. Clayton Swart reports.

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The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has welcomed former Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen’s recent decision to amend the Animal Diseases Regulations (R.2026 of 1986) to allow the introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) vaccinations in South Africa.

Izaak Breitenbach, CEO of the SAPA Broiler Organisation, said Steenhuisen’s decision marked a significant milestone for the poultry industry and will save it billions of rand.

He noted that the last major outbreak of HPAI in South Africa, which occurred in 2023, cost the industry around R10,5 billion, adding that allowing the vaccination of birds is a direct intervention to support a more sustainable approach to combating the disease.

“If we can get to an implementable biosecurity and monitoring protocol, we will prevent what happened in 2023, when we lost in excess of 9,5 million chickens to culling,” Breitenbach said.

He said Steenhuisen’s announcement followed SAPA’s sustained engagement with government to secure practical, science-based solutions that better protect poultry flocks, safeguard food security, and preserve jobs throughout the poultry value chain.