The 21-day national Foot & Mouth lockdown on the movement of cloven hooved livestock imposed last month has been lifted.
One result is that fears of a red meat shortage in shops later in the year may prove to have been premature as it is now possible for normal operations to resume on farms, feedlots, auctions and abattoirs.
A few small pockets of South Africa remain under restrictions imposed to curb and contain the highly-infectious disease. These are in northern Limpopo. North-eastern KwaZulu-Natal and in the central Free State.
Although the lockdown has been eased this does not mean an end to the disease and veterinarians and livestock owners have been urged to remain vigilant, to practice diligent and stringent hygiene protocols, and to report any suspected infected animals to their local State Veterinarian.