VN September 2023

Vetnuus | September 2023 48 Each month I look for pertinent topics; often with difficulty. Not this month; the topic was supplied to me by our completely incompetent veterinary services and in this case the remarkable Allerton Laboratory. Over the years I have had my run-ins with the state veterinary services and in most instances have come out on the losing end but never quite as much as yesterday. I related some months ago what happened with a batch of Lumpy Skin vaccine that had been inadequately attenuated and cost me three expensive bulls and a herd of sick cows. I am still waiting for the senior vet to return as he promised three years ago. Then when Horse sickness was at its worst I acquired three fully vaccinated horses from the Summerveld stables. These horses all died within weeks of arrival on my farm from typical horse sickness. As was requested of us the local state vet was informed and as of now they have never investigated this – either by a visit or by telephone. Andwewonder why horse sickness is such a problem. Then last year, a suspected Foot andMouth outbreak which fortunately was not the case but the vet assigned to the case was a CS vet with less than 3 months from qualifying. A daunting task for even an experienced vet. Fortunately, she managed very well despite her lack of confidence which was markedly evident from the outset. Yesterday’s shocking story was far more costly tome and either of the foregone and has had a devastating effect onmy cash flow. My farm’s primary product is stud bulls and as has been the case for many years, this year’s crop had been tendered andmeasured very closely for the past three years. The sale date was Wednesday the 23 rd of August. The Agents required all the necessary tests to be done and it was far from an unrealistic list one item of which was routine CA testing. Blood was collected a week in advance of the required date and submitted to Allerton. My wife personally delivered the samples into the hands of the responsible person. When phoned five days later for the results I was told that the tests could not be undertaken because there was no available antibody to do the test.Yes, that is right no available antibody. Can one believe that? Firstly it seems ridiculous when this is such an important disease and testing for it can only be done by government laboratories – in our case it is Allerton or Onderstepoort. Secondly, surely it is possible to phone the person submitting the sample and tell them the tests could not be done and that the samples should be submitted to Onderstepoort. So why the outcry? Well, the agent rightly refused my cattle entry and all the effort with the preparation and caring had gone amiss. Let alone the cash flow. But then the government servants don’t care anyway because they are paid irrespective of the service provided. Thenext part of the storywas that a veryupsetme tried tocontact the vet or vets concerned. I had four phone numbers including private cell phone numbers. It was ten to four and surprisingly not one phone was answered and not one request to return the call was met. I still have not had any response but then if the senior vet in charge of vaccines does not fulfil his promises one can hardly expect anything from the juniors. Today the phone was put down when I tried to enquire as to what had happened and when I phoned again the phone was not answered. My dear friendTod on hearing the story had this to say“There comes a point where you no longer care if there is light at the end of the tunnel or not. You are just sick of the tunnel.” “The obvious alternative is privatization such as Design Biologix manufacturing vaccines that the imploding OBP can no longer keep upwith.Yet the stumbling blocks being it in their path, or the burning hoops that need to be jumped through, or the negative gossip, are simply expected reactions from a bully whose true colours are being revealed by dynamic colour blind best–person– for–the–job organisations. Mikewhat is desperate about your case is that CA is regaining a foothold in KZN; a disease that through sheer graft in all weathers was as good as eradicated in the70s and 80’s and of course unscrupulous stockmen and agents. Yes, Tod, we were lucky to have the likes of Hugh Seton, Max Bachman, Brian Weaver, James Kitchins and Dudley Williamson as the state vets we worked with.They took their tasks seriously and achieved somuch for the people of this region. One wonders what the Veterinary Council would do to private vets that had been this negligent anddo the requirements for responsibility not apply to state vets? Do they practice with impunity? Where are we now and where are we heading? A country that produced all its vaccines and exported many worldwide, to one now cannot even produce horse sickness at the right time of the year for its own horses and has to make excuse after excuse to the horse owners as to why there is no vaccine. Heremillions havebeen spent onupgrading the vaccineproduction facilitywith promises beingmade and nothing happening A really gloomy picture with little hope and the light at the end of the tunnel an oncoming freight trainwhich fortunately we need not worry about because the government spent a fortune on the trains only to find that they did not fit the lines and the tunnelswere too low to allow thementry; a small, costly benefit for incompetence. v Life plus 24 without parole Mike Lowry Mike Lowry has been in veterinary practice for "life plus 23" years. In this column, he shares his experiences and opinions . Regulars I Life plus 23 + 24