Gyeongnam Province: 'Fines + Zero Compensation for Culling' if Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Not Administered

Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 17th that it will not provide culling compensation to farms that have not vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the event of an outbreak.

Before the occurrence of FMD in Korea, Gyeongnam Province implemented a mass vaccination campaign targeting all cattle and goat farms in the province from April 1 to May 9 to strengthen quarantine measures.

From the 16th to the 20th, an emergency vaccination order was issued for cloven-hoofed animals that had passed three weeks after vaccination to maximize antibody positivity rates.

Cloven-hoofed animals include cattle, goats, pigs, and other animals with split hooves, which are known to be highly susceptible to the livestock infectious disease FMD.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

The province plans to conduct antibody positivity rate monitoring tests at the Animal Hygiene Testing Laboratory four weeks after this emergency vaccination to verify compliance with the vaccination order.

Farms with antibody positivity rates below the standard will face administrative penalties such as fines.

Violating the vaccination order will result in fines of 5 million KRW for the first offense, 7.5 million KRW for the second, and 10 million KRW for the third.

According to the province, there have been a total of 10 FMD cases in Korea so far: 8 cases in Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, and 2 cases in Jeungpyeong-gun.

The affected farms are specialized farms raising more than 50 Korean cattle (Hanwoo), which are required to maintain an FMD antibody positivity rate of 80% or higher by law. However, the rates were found to be 62%, 76.5%, and 24%, respectively, suggesting that these farms did not properly vaccinate against FMD.

Kang Gwang-sik, Director of the Animal Quarantine Division of the province, said, “If farms neglect vaccination, FMD could recur in our region at any time, so please make sure to vaccinate.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.