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South Africa’s poultry industry is calling on the minister of agriculture, Willie Aucamp, to prioritise the finalisation of a bird flu vaccination framework. It says producers cannot afford further delays in preparing for future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
The appeal was made during a webinar hosted by FairPlay’s founder Francois Baird, featuring Izaak Breitenbach, general manager of the South African Poultry Association’s broiler matters, Obed Lukhele, a vaccination specialist at Astral Foods, and John Fourie, director of Chubby Chick. The three industry representatives outlined ongoing concerns around vaccination regulations, disease preparedness and the lessons learnt from the 2023 outbreak.
“We recently took this up with minister Aucamp’s office,” Breitenbach said about the industry’s engagement with government on vaccination requirements. “We believe that he wants to consult with the industry on that particular matter.”
Industry seeks progress on vaccination rules
Breitenbach said the poultry industry has spent the past three years engaging with the Department of Agriculture on avian influenza vaccination. The sector submitted a Section 23 application in April this year after raising concerns about existing biosecurity and monitoring protocols linked to vaccination approval. Producers argued that many of the requirements would be difficult for farms to implement. “Our plea was really for a different type of document dealing with biosecurity protocols and monitoring protocols,” Breitenbach said. “We felt that these protocols were difficult to implement.”
He said former agriculture minister John Steenhuisen announced in June 2025 that a political decision had been taken to allow mass vaccination against avian influenza. However, the industry is still waiting for formal feedback following its appeal process. Breitenbach said South Africa has an opportunity to address the issue before another outbreak occurs. “The disease isn’t currently present, so we still have time to solve the problem before it occurs,” he said, comparing avian influenza with the current foot-and-mouth disease challenges facing the livestock sector.
Biosecurity is not the only defence
Lukhele said biosecurity remains the primary defence against avian influenza, but international experience has shown that it cannot eliminate all risk. The disease is spread largely through wild and migratory birds, which can introduce the virus into commercial poultry operations either directly or indirectly through contaminated material. “We know that it’s not sufficient on its own,” Lukhele said of biosecurity measures. “You need other tools to support biosecurity.”
Lukhele said Astral supports a science-based vaccination approach that complements existing disease-control measures. He noted that several countries have already introduced or are investigating vaccination programmes as part of broader avian influenza management strategies. “We are advocating for science-based vaccination, which we believe is an adjunct to biosecurity,” he said.
Fourie said the 2023 avian influenza outbreak permanently changed how poultry producers approach biosecurity. “Biosecurity standards have improved. Awareness has increased, and producers are far better prepared than we were a few years ago,” he said.
However, farm-level measures can only go so far when dealing with a disease carried by wild birds. “As producers, there comes a point where we simply cannot utilise biosecurity to remove the avian flu risk. Wild birds don’t respect farm boundaries,” Fourie said. He said the industry’s future preparedness would depend on combining biosecurity, surveillance, vaccination, and cooperation across the value chain.
Focus on engagement with new minister
With a new agriculture minister in office, industry representatives indicated that their immediate priority is securing engagement on the outstanding vaccination framework. Breitenbach said the industry believes progress has been made through the appeal process and expects further discussions with Aucamp’s office. A further application relating to the management of avian influenza in South Africa is also expected to be submitted soon. – Nikilene Steenkamp, Plaas Media
