"Winter is approaching and with it come the seasonal weather patterns. So please be prepared. Make plans now to ensure that there is adequate protection for your animals and provision for food to be provided, including a plan to obtain supplementary feed if need be," says senior inspector Andries Venter, manager of the NSPCA's Farm Annual Protection Unit.
Every year the NSPCA receives pleas for emergency assistance when food stores and grazing have been depleted or there are natural occurrences including fires or floods which have affected the ability to obtain fodder. These are known and relatively predictable weather cycles and so preparation can be undertaken.
"Don't leave it too late. Take responsibility now," says Venter. His advice includes liaising with local disaster management teams to ensure that there is communication and an awareness of the planning and procedure in the event of a dire emergency. Working together this way can often solve problems and it certainly lessens the impact.
Proactive steps can be taken, including monitoring the weather in advance, ensuring that stock can be reduced in exchanged for financial or feed provision and the sharing of feed or storage of feed. All these measures will help to prevent the loss of livestock, which in turn would prevent animals from suffering unnecessarily.
It may be possible to obtain feed from other parts of the country, but the transport costs have to be taken into consideration and may be more expensive than the feed itself.
"We have sent communications to alert the national and relevant provincial directors for the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to bring awareness of these issues to the deployed state veterinarians and extension officers across the country," Venter says.
The NSPCA covers an estimated 70% of the area of South Africa which is predominantly rural and where there are no individual SPCAs, no other welfare services and often no veterinarians in the immediate area. This is a huge undertaking, yet annually they receive calls for assistance often once a situation has deteriorated and animals are suffering or dying.
"Let us make 2014 the year when these emergencies do not happen. We ask everyone who farms with animals - on no matter how large or small a scale - to plan ahead, to anticipate potential issues that may impact as winter approaches and to ensure that all provision is made to protect the animals," Venter concludes.
