Lean Environmental Solutions

Guide · Georgia

Animal disease

One sick animal can infect a whole herd and close the market, and some diseases, like brucellosis and anthrax, also make people ill.

Who and when

Pigs, cattle, sheep and dairy. Any month; insect-borne diseases such as lumpy skin disease in summer. FMD SAT-1 outbreaks near the borders since Sep 2025; none in Georgia since 2011. Past: African swine fever (2007), PPR on a Kvemo Kartli sheep farm (2024).

Getting worse or not: yes. FMD SAT-1 is new to the region; the main driver is animal movement and weak vet control.

Right now

Right now (autumn 2026)

  • Free FMD vaccination with a vaccine matched to SAT-1 has run nationwide since Nov 2025 (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs), through regional vet services.
Before

Before: get ready

Animals

  1. Get every animal into the free vaccination rounds, every year. When: now, and again in March–April.
  2. Ear-tag and register every animal. Vets vaccinate at tagging, and tagging decides anthrax compensation. When: at vaccination.
  3. Keep a simple record: tag, vaccinations, births, where each animal came from.
  4. Don't buy animals of unknown origin. Keep new animals apart before they join the herd (general practice, check locally).
  5. Never slaughter a sick animal at home. Never sell or eat meat from an animal that died of an unknown cause.
  6. Never graze or dig on livestock burial grounds or anthrax sites.
  7. Vaccinate cattle against lumpy skin disease before insects return. When: before spring.
  8. Save the vet's number: the National Food Agency (NFA).

Money: free vaccination; the state pays for anthrax deaths of tagged, registered, vaccinated animals; no livestock insurance.

During

During: when it hits

  1. Protect people. If an animal dies suddenly, or bleeds from the nose, mouth or other openings, do not open or butcher it: it may be anthrax.
  2. Report at once: tell the NFA immediately; the law says you must.
  3. Do not move, sell or slaughter sick animals.
  4. Do not treat the disease yourself. Do what the vet service says. Expect quarantine: movement control, disinfection, official disposal of carcasses, sometimes culling.
  5. Never hide animals from the vet.
  6. Carcasses: the NFA disposes of them for notifiable diseases. Never bury them where floods reach.
After

After: recover

First days

  • Follow the quarantine rules until the vet lifts them.
  • Take photos with date and time of dead animals and their ear tags. Keep the vet's papers and the lab result.
  • Clean and disinfect pens as the vet directs.

First weeks

  • Catch up any missed vaccinations.
  • Restock only from tested, vaccinated animals, and keep them apart first (general practice, check locally).

Money and help

  • The state pays for animals that die of anthrax (Resolution No. 332, since 1 Jan 2024; first paid Sep 2025). Conditions: ear-tagged, animal and owner in the NAITS register, owner did not refuse vaccination, lab-confirmed case. Animals on winter pastures are covered. The amount is not published.
  • A rabies compensation procedure was written in 2025. PPR or pox cull compensation was not found.
Build back better

Build back better

  1. Tag, register and vaccinate every animal, every round.
  2. Keep a pen for new animals, apart from the herd.
  3. Buy only from known, vaccinated sources.
  4. Keep the herd record up to date.

What the farm check looks for

Animals not tagged or registered, missed vaccination rounds, animals bought without knowing their origin, home slaughter, and grazing near burial or anthrax sites.

Get a free farm check

Sources