Livestock Transport Banned in 1,765 Subdistricts in an Attempt to Curb FMD

TheIndonesia.co - The Indonesian government has announced a ban on livestock transport in 1,765 subdistricts across the provinces in a continuous attempt to contain the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said livestock transport ban will be enforced in areas that are considered to be the “red zones” of FMD infection.

“There will be ban on the movement of livestock in subdistricts that have been affected by foot-and-mouth disease, which we call the red zones,” Hartarto said on Thursday, June 23, as reported by Antara.

Currently, the FMD red zones include 1,765 subdistricts or 38 percent of the total figures at 4,614.

Hartarto said details of the policy will be included in Ministry of Home Affairs' Instruction (Inmendagri) that will be issued.

The Coordinating Minister also confirmed that Indonesian authorities will be taking similar approach on how it’s handling COVID-19 pandemic to contain the recent FMD outbreak – which is by prioritizing micro-level-based regulation.

And among the focuses is to monitor transport of livestock from farms.

“All mechanisms must be controlled both for animal movement and transport to and from farms. Disinfectant is just as important because we try to monitor the carrier of this virus,” Hartarto explained.

President Joko Widodo also announced the establishment of FMD Handling Task Force that will be led by head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Suharyanto.

Authorities targets the procurement of 28 to 29 million doses of FMD vaccine this year, using budget from the Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (KPC PEN).