Seek pay if your cow dies from notifiable disease

What you need to know:

  • The Animal Diseases Act (Cap 364) and its subsidiary legislations provide for matters relating to animal diseases

Animal diseases account for substantial economic loss for livestock farmers. This loss hinders the sector’s contribution to socio-economic development. Livestock contributes about 42 per cent of agriculture’s gross domestic product.

Most of the animals die from notifiable diseases that include foot and mouth, anthrax, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, rabies, lumpy skin, contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, new castle, east coast fever, Rift Valley fever and trypanosomiasis.

The diseases are called notifiable because one is required by law to report to government authorities about their outbreak. It calls for vigilance to detect such diseases and action must be promptly taken to reduce the impact. Therefore, it is prudent to ascertain the health of any animal before you buy.

Legal framework on animal diseases

The Animal Diseases Act (Cap 364) and its subsidiary legislations provide for matters relating to animal diseases.

What is required of animals that are affected with notifiable diseases?

The law requires that the farmer keeps the animal enclosed and separated from others to avoid infection.

The disease must be reported immediately to the nearest veterinary officer or inspector.

The law permits a veterinary surgeon who has reason to believe or suspect that any notifiable disease exists on any farm or in any area to notify the nearest administrative officer or inspector.

The officer will request for immediate production of the specimen of the animal for investigations to ascertain the existence and nature of the disease.

He may further give a directive for the slaughter of the infected animal. The officer will then put stringent measures to guard against spread of the disease and its recurrence.

Can a farmer get compensation for loss of an animal caused by a notifiable disease?

A farmer is entitled to compensation if, indeed, his animal died of a notifiable disease. He will be paid its value before it was infected. In cases where the animal was not infected with a notifiable disease but was suspected of being infected, he will be paid the value immediately before it was slaughtered.

However, compensation may be withheld wholly or partially. If the owner is guilty of any breach of legal provisions, no compensation shall be paid.

How is the compensation valued?

The veterinary officer may give notice in writing of the value of the animal to the owner. If the owner gives a counter notice, then the value can be determined by an independent valuer agreed upon by both parties.

If an agreement is not reached in 14 days, then either party may make an application in court for the appointment of a valuer. The decision of the court appointed valuer will be final and binding to the government and the owner.

If the court appointed valuer values the animal higher than the veterinary officer, the government shall pay all costs reasonably incurred by the owner and the valuation expenses. The costs and expenses of the valuation incurred by government may be deducted from the sum payable to the owner.

The writer is a lawyer. [email protected]