South
Africa's neighbors ban meat imports over foot and mouth disease
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[January 10, 2019]
MBABANE/GABORONE/HARARE (Reuters) -
Botswana and the Kingdom of eSwatini, formerly Swaziland, have suspended
meat imports from South Africa while Zimbabwe is in the process of
setting up a ban due to the outbreak of the highly contagious foot and
mouth disease.
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The disease, which causes lesions and lameness in cattle and sheep,
was detected in a northern district of Limpopo province, South
Africa's agriculture department announced this week.
eSwatini, which is heavily reliant on South Africa for food, and
Botswana on Wednesday announced that they would ban products from
cloven hoofed animals, joining Namibia which had suspended imports
with immediate effect.
"We have strengthened our surveillance in collaboration with
security agents and customs officials in all border posts," Xolani
Dlamini, director of veterinary services at the agriculture
ministry, told Reuters late on Wednesday.
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Botswana's Agricultural Ministry said it would also halt the
movement of cloven hoofed animals and their products from South
Africa as well as transiting those products through Botswana.
Botswana is one of the largest beef exporters to the EU but has
often suspended sales in the past due to foot and mouth disease (FMD)
outbreaks.
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Zimbabwe's Agriculture Minister Perrance Shiri told Reuters that
they were also in the process of banning affected meat and livestock
imports from South Africa but would give more detail in a statement
later on Thursday.
"We are in the process of doing that. It's going to be effective
from today," said Shiri.
Foot and mouth disease does not affect humans but poses a threat to
cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, goats and sheep.
(Reporting by Lunga Masuku, MacDonald Dzirutwe; writing by Tanisha
Heiberg and Jason Neely)
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