Botswana is a top beef producer and the country has announced plans to slaughter 10 000 cattle with an aim to curb an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
Agricultural authorities in Botswana announced that the first major outbreak in two years forced the country to suspend beef exports.
As a top beef exporter to the European Union, Botswana has swiftly moved to ensure they don’t see many cattle affected by the foot-and-mouth disease, a minister said Monday.
It is also reported that the first major outbreak in two years forced the southern African country to suspend all beef exports on August 24 – Botswana annually it exports about 9, 000 tonnes of beef to the EU.
As per a report by News24, assistant minister of agriculture Molebatsi Molebatsi told AFP that 9 757 cattle are expected to be culled in northeastern villages bordering neighbour Zimbabwe.
Molebatsi also warned that numbers of infected cattle keep on increasing and that there are some 19 000 in the affected region, said the Botswana official.
“After a two-year respite, in August the landlocked Southern African nation confirmed an outbreak,” reports the website.
“Foot and mouth disease is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock. Botswana exports about 9 000 tonnes of beef to the EU each year – around half of its exports – competing with world-renowned beef producers such as Brazil.”
Meanwhile, it’s also indicated in the report that the deal enables Botswana to export duty-free and quota-free to the EU market.
Looking at a previous report by BusinessTech Africa, this website posted that the United States Animal and Plant Health Inspection agency has decided to ban poultry meat, live birds, and all poultry products from Botswana.
The US announced a ban to immediately curb the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as it was reported on some poultry farms in that country.
Researcher Dr. John Moreki, contracted to the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said that while the African country had become self-sufficient in poultry production, the industry still faced many challenges.
“The outbreak of avian influenza in some parts of Botswana has a negative impact on the movement of poultry and poultry products,” Moreki said.
Main Image: FarmersWeekly
