Recovery and rehabilitation of affected farming communities

should follow the relevant OIE requirements as laid out in the latest version of the TAHC. For contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in particular, a detailed “pathway” has been described. In addition to the above, a country is eligible to declare, at an earlier stage, “provisional freedom” regarding CBPP, in case that country is satisfied that it can provide the necessary sanitary guarantees to its trade partners that its self-declaration of provisional freedom meets the requirements for freedom as outlined in the relevant chapters of the Terrestrial Code. This self-declaration does not confer OIE’s “official status of freedom”.

For other diseases, the OIE does not grant official recognition of animal disease status, but for some, such as Newcastle disease and HPAI, details are given in the TAHC for recommended surveillance measures to follow when seeking to self-declare freedom from disease and/or infection. For many other diseases, the TAHC gives general guidelines for the conditions to be met for self-declaration. This self-declaration does not confer OIE’s “official recognition of animal disease” status, which applies only to the four aforementioned diseases. Self-declarations serve the bilateral relations between the declaring country and its trade partners and it is a matter between the two countries. The OIE can provide a mediation role if the two countries cannot reach an agreement.

It is sometimes possible to foreshorten considerably the periods for declarations of freedom to be made if a “stamping out” policy has been followed; this should be taken into account when a vaccination policy is being decided.

recovery and rehabIlItatIon of affected farmIng communItIes

Epidemic animal diseases may reach magnitudes of major catastrophes with long-term economic implications at the individual and national levels. During the outbreak, the losses are caused by the disease itself, but also by man-made activities such as culling. Heavy economic losses result from the quarantine measures imposed, such as banning the transportation of meat, eggs and milk products and restricting animal movement, which will affect producers (the farmers), first users (e.g. laying farms, the broiler industry, feedlots and fattening units, dairies and slaughterhouses), second users (e.g. food processors, the retail market) and prices to the consumers (or their perceived or real food-safety threats). Other stakeholders in the production and marketing chain (e.g. transporters, animal markets and traders and feed mills) also will be seriously affected during the outbreak.

In some countries, non-agricultural industries, such as tourism, may be affected, sometimes severely, but the recovery of these is usually not the responsibility of the veterinary authorities or agricultural ministry.

The day on which an outbreak is declared over is the first day on a long and sometimes difficult road to recovery and rehabilitation of severely damaged livelihoods and, in many cases, spirit. Public assistance is needed to help the affected populations towards recovery, rehabilitation, development and a capacity to satisfy future needs.

Not all those affected will wish to return to their previous engagement. Following a massive animal disease outbreak accompanied by mass mortality or mass destruction of livestock, a certain percentage of the owners do not wish to restock or to continue animal breeding. But the majority will wish to return to their traditional way of life, i.e. tending animals as livelihood. They will have to restock.