By Lee Kyung-min
The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at many livestock farms recurs as farmers are reluctant to vaccinate animals due to alleged side effects and the high cost, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, many farmers believe that vaccinated cows produce less milk, and also it is of a lower quality compared to that from unvaccinated ones. Some farmers also believe that vaccinated cattle are more prone to miscarriages, it added.
Farmers share the vaccination cost with the government. But they consider it not a necessity but a risk, according to Rep. Kim Hyun-kwon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.
“Currently, farmers have to vaccinate their livestock. But the authorities are unaware that this causes miscarriages in cattle, which is a considerable loss for the farmers,” Kim said.
“The government only orders farmers to vaccinate the animals without considering the additional cost,” he added.
While emergency state support covers economic losses caused by the virus outbreak, it does not cover costs which it deems unrelated to the outbreak, he added.
Meanwhile, a second case of the contagious virus was confirmed at a cattle farm in North Jeolla Province, Tuesday, a day after the ministry imposed a 30-hour nationwide ban on the transport of animals following the first confirmed case at a dairy farm in North Chungcheong Province.
Nearly 50 cows at the farm in the southwestern region have tested positive for the contagious virus, with all being put down.
It noted that only five percent of the infected cows at the North Jeolla farm had antibodies against the foot-and-mouth virus.
About 102,000 cows and pigs will be vaccinated within this week to prevent further spread of the disease.
Foot-and-mouth disease, which rarely affect humans, is often fatal for cloven-hoofed animals, such as cows, sheep and pigs.