Namibian Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform said that no live cloven-hoofed animals are to be allowed to cross the border from South Africa into the country following the reopening of some borders recently, a notice issued Monday revealed.
The notification was released as a reminder for Namibia border officials to maintain the ban, which has been longstanding since 2019, targeting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and antelopes.
“South Africa has a serious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak and this offers a great risk to the FMD-free zone in Namibia,” the ministry’s directorate of veterinary services said in the notice, adding that this can have a catastrophic effect on Namibia if FMD is found in the free zone.
In Namibia, the FMD-free zone is the area south of the veterinary cordon fence (red line), where no reports of FMD cases have been recorded for a long time.
The ministry said all vehicles should be searched to ensure that no person tries to bring meat products or live animals through the border post.
According to South Africa’s FMD outbreak and surveillance update report released on Aug. 5, the country currently has 110 open FMD cases in its previous FMD-free zone.
Amid decreasing COVID-19 case numbers and the relaxation of health protocols in Namibia, the country has over the weekend reopened border posts between South Africa and Botswana. Enditem
