Staff Reporter
NAMIBIAN cattle can now be exported to South Africa again, following the lifting of restrictions that were imposed on the movement of live cattle in South Africa to curb the spread of the highly contagious Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).
This was announced by Dr Albertina Shilongo, the Chief Veterinary Officer of the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform.
However, Shilongo explained certain conditions must be met for all trucks transporting cattle, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals from Namibia to South Africa.
These conditions include the registration of all transporting trucks with DVS and the proper cleaning and disinfection of all trucks upon offloading animals in South Africa. Shilongo explained that the disinfected trucks will be issued with a Cleaning and Disinfection Certificate, valid for one consignment, which must be presented to Namibia’s veterinary border officials.
“At the next loading of animals in Namibia for exportation to South Africa, the Cleaning and Disinfection Certificate previously issued to the specific truck in South Africa must be handed to the attending veterinary official,” Shilongo added.
Trucks without a valid certificate will be refused entry, Shilongo said, and failure to comply with the aforementioned conditions will lead to the disqualification of the specific truck from transporting animals to South Africa.
“Importers of livestock feed from South Africa are also reminded that vehicles must be cleaned and disinfected before loading, the Disinfection Certificate is for one consignment and must be presented to veterinary officials at the borders,” Shilongo explained.
The lifting of these restrictions came as South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, hosted an FMD Management and Market Access information session in Limpopo – one of the provinces most affected by FMD.
The objective of the information session was to raise awareness on how to handle and control the devastating FMD outbreak in South Africa. This is just one of South Africa’s many initiatives to raise awareness on FMD in the hopes that it could curb the spread of the highly contagious disease.
South Africa’s current battle with FMD started in 2019 and resulted in Namibia banning the importation of livestock and raw meat from South Africa. These restrictions are still valid, with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform recently having extended the ban until further notice.
File photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo: global-geography.org
