Abstract
This paper describes the successful national program initiated by the South African government to produce disease-free African buffalo so as to ensure the sustainability of this species due to threats from diseases. Buffalo are known carriers of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine tuberculosis, Corridor disease and brucellosis. A long-term program involving multiphase testing and a breeding scheme for buffalo is described where, after 10 years, a sustainable number of buffalo herds are now available that are free of these four diseases. A large portion of the success was attributable to the use of dairy cows as foster parents with the five-stage quarantine process proving highly effective in maintaining the “disease-free” status of both the calves and the foster cows. The projects proved the successfulness of breeding with African buffalo in a commercial system that was unique to African buffalo and maintained the “wildness” of the animals so that they could effectively be released back into the wild with minimal, if any, behavioral problems.
Highlights
The African buffalo is the largest of the Bovidae family and can be divided into two subspecies, namely the savanna buffalo, Syncerus caffer caffer, and the forest buffalo, Syncerus caffer nananus.The former subspecies occurs throughout Southern Africa while the latter occurs higher up throughoutSustainability 2012, 4 central and northern Africa [1]
Since African buffalo came under the threat of FMD virus (FMDV), bovine tuberculosis (BTB), Corridor disease and brucellosis, the breeding of disease-free buffalo became an increasingly lucrative business [48]
A large number of “disease-free” breeding projects were initiated solely for economic reasons the primary reason for initiating such projects was to maintain and propagate the Kruger Park buffalo gene pool, which had been severely affected by FMDV, BTB, brucellosis and Corridor disease and to increase the distribution of “disease-free” buffalo across South Africa
Summary
The African buffalo is the largest of the Bovidae family and can be divided into two subspecies, namely the savanna buffalo, Syncerus caffer caffer, and the forest buffalo, Syncerus caffer nananus. Parks Board initiated the first projects aimed at breeding “disease-free” buffalo. This was in an attempt to save the large gene pool of the Kruger Park buffalo, which was the most affected by these diseases. The veterinary redline area was subsequently established in order to control the movement of buffalo and prevent the spread of FMD between infected buffalo and commercial cattle farms due to the large economic implications this held. This declaration played a major role in containing the diseases and the success of the “disease-free” breeding projects. The projects were groundbreaking, and some break-outs of buffalo from the redline region infected with the diseases did occur before the end of such private projects in 2011, the quarantine and breeding systems implemented proved highly successful in increasing the number of buffalo in Southern Africa unaffected by FMD, BTB, CD and brucellosis
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