Jeongeup-si to Conduct Mass Vaccination of Cattle and Goats Until the 5th of Next Month

Published 03 Apr.2023 13:21(KST)

Jeongeup City in Jeollabuk-do will conduct a mass foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccination for cattle and goats in the region from the 3rd of this month to the 5th of next month to prevent the introduction of FMD and maintain Jeongeup as a clean livestock area.

According to the city on the 3rd, FMD is a highly fatal national disaster infectious disease that causes blisters around the mouths and hooves of cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, goats, and deer.

Jeongeup City will conduct a mass vaccination of foot-and-mouth disease prevention vaccines for cattle and goat farms in the region until the 5th of next month.
[Photo by Jeongeup City]

The vaccination targets are 80,000 cattle and 7,700 goats. For small-scale farms with fewer than 50 cattle, the city will purchase vaccines in bulk (100% subsidized) and dispatch veterinarians to support vaccination.

For farms of professional scale or larger, they can purchase vaccines from the local livestock cooperative with a 50% subsidy and conduct mass vaccinations on their own.

One month after completing the FMD vaccination, monitoring tests will be conducted to check for antibody formation.

If the antibody positivity rate is below 80% for cattle or 60% for goats in the test, a fine of up to 10 million KRW will be imposed on the respective farm.

Additionally, until the antibody positivity rate improves, special management such as re-vaccination and re-testing on a monthly basis will be enforced, and penalties such as exclusion from government support projects will be applied.

The city conducts regular vaccinations twice a year in April and October for cattle and goats to prevent damage to local farms due to the highly contagious FMD virus.

Pigs, which are slaughtered at six months and have a short rearing period, receive vaccinations year-round due to the low effectiveness of vaccination, and deer are vaccinated en masse every July to August, timed with antler removal and birthing periods due to issues such as anesthesia.

A city official said, “Thorough vaccination is the best way to prevent the outbreak of FMD,” and added, “We ask for the active cooperation and participation of livestock farmers to ensure no animals miss vaccination.”

Jeongeup = Kim Jaegil, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr