CLAIM: Australia has announced plans for mass injections of mRNA vaccines into livestock.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Officials have announced no such plans and there are no mandatory vaccinations for livestock, the country’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry confirmed to The Associated Press. The claim misrepresents an announcement about research into potential mRNA vaccines for animals that could be used if disease outbreaks occur.
THE FACTS: While officials and experts have credited COVID-19 vaccines with saving millions of lives since their debut in late 2020, false and misleading claims continue to circulate daily. Among them: erroneous assertions that the mRNA vaccines or others using that technology will be administered to humans through food.
Social media posts this week peddled a falsehood that food animals in Australia will all soon receive mRNA vaccines.
“Australia has announced plans for mass injections of mRNA vaccines into livestock,” reads one widespread tweet.
A headline on The People’s Voice, a website known for spreading misinformation, similarly claimed: “Australia Approves Mandatory Bill Gates mRNA Vaccines for ALL Agriculture.”
But a spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry told the AP in an email that the country does not mandate vaccines for livestock and that it had made no announcement for “mass injections” of animals with mRNA shots.
The story on the People’s Voice referred to a May announcement from Meat & Livestock Australia, an industry research and marketing body that works closely with the government.
“Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has recently funded a project to produce and test mRNA vaccines that can be rapidly mass produced in Australia in the event of a lumpy skin disease (LSD) or other exotic disease outbreak,” the announcement said.
MLA spokesperson Jack Johnston also confirmed that the government isn’t requiring livestock to receive any vaccines — and said no mRNA vaccines are currently approved for food animals in Australia.
“No livestock vaccines are ‘mandated’ for livestock in Australia,” he said in an email.
But, he said, immunizations play an important role and “can help prevent common endemic livestock diseases, leading to improved animal health, welfare and productivity.”
“We advise that producers should be aware of the endemic diseases in their region in Australia that can be prevented by vaccination and assess the risk based on previous local district and property history,” Johnston said.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
