Namibia Bans Botswana Cattle on Scare
NAMIBIA - Namibia banned the transportation through its territory of cattle and other live cloven-hoofed animals from Botswana because of a suspected outbreak of foot- and-mouth disease, the Ministry of Agriculture said.
30 October 2008
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Botswana has reported that five cattle in the Ghanzi district showed foot and oral lesions normally associated with the disease, the ministry said in a statement from the capital, Windhoek, today. Botswana has also closed all the country's abattoirs with immediate effect, it said.
"All cattle slaughter facilities, including the Botswana Meat Corp. abattoirs in Lobatse and Francistown, are closed with immediate effect," according to the statement.
Foot-and-mouth disease is an acute, highly contagious viral infection that inflicts cloven-hoofed animals. The disease can spread over great distances with movement of infected or contaminated animals, products, objects and people, according to Canada's Agriculture Ministry.
Source: Bloomberg
