Paju-si, Mass Vaccination of Cattle and Goats for Foot-and-Mouth Disease Throughout October

Vaccination Conducted for 32,000+ Poultry at 441 Farms

Paju City will promote mass vaccination of cattle and goats throughout October to prevent foot-and-mouth disease.

Gyeonggi Paju City announced on the 30th that it will promote mass vaccination for the prevention of foot-and-mouth disease, a Class 1 statutory livestock infectious disease, from October 1 to 31.

The mass vaccination, conducted twice a year in April and October, targets cattle and goat farms. This October, mass vaccination is expected to be carried out for approximately 32,000 animals across 441 farms.

Paju City plans to make every effort to prevent the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease by deploying nine public and private veterinarians simultaneously to increase the efficiency of vaccination by preventing missed vaccinations, and by providing vaccine adjuvants to minimize stress on the targeted livestock.

Starting four weeks after the completion of vaccination, inspections will be conducted to verify vaccination compliance. Farms found to have antibody positivity rates below the standard (80% for cattle, 60% for goats) will be subject to fines ranging from a minimum of 5 million KRW to a maximum of 10 million KRW and will face disadvantages such as exclusion from future preventive medicine support projects.

During this mass vaccination period, small-scale farms raising fewer than 50 cattle (or fewer than 300 goats) will receive vaccines free of charge. Commercial-scale farms raising 50 or more cattle will receive 50% cost support when purchasing vaccines through the Paju-Yeoncheon Livestock Cooperative.

Lee Gwang-jae, Director of the Animal Management Division, emphasized, “It is important to remember that the first outbreak site during last year’s foot-and-mouth disease crisis was a small cattle farm in Chungbuk. Cooperation in mass vaccination to ensure no one misses vaccination is crucial, and we ask that basic biosecurity measures such as farm quarantine and disinfection be followed along with vaccination.”