Food security | Vaccine shortage may lead to meat scarcity

JOHANNESBURG - Your braai may look a little leaner very soon.

The country faces a shortage of red meat.

This is due to a shortage of vaccines against bluetongue disease.

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Red meat producers blame the state-run Onderstepoort Biological Products for the shortage.

"This is quite a bad state we are in at this moment because we haven't got any vaccine for any bluetongue, any horse sickness, so it has gotten to a point where animals are dying," said James Faber from the Red Meat Producers Organisation.

"It is not affecting at the end of the line, the people that are buying the meat, but it's affecting production.

"We will run out of animals if we don't look after them, if we do not vaccinate them against these diseases."