Livestock movement banned in Omaheke

The agriculture ministry has banned livestock movement in the Eiseb, Otjinene, Rietfontein and Epukiro areas of the Omahake Region after a buffalo sighting.The Directorate of Veterinary Services received a report that an African buffalo had been seen at Outje village in the Eiseb Block on Monday. African buffalos are not allowed outside national parks because of the risk of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) spreading to livestock and therefore any buffalo that strays into farming areas is destroyed on sight.According to the chief veterinary officer in the ministry, Dr Milton Masheke, several precautionary measures have been taken. All farms in the Eiseb, Otjinene, Rietfontein and Epukiro have been declared as restricted areas. Therefore cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, cloven-hoofed game and their products may not be moved into and out of these areas, according to Masheke. All livestock auctions and transit of animal products in the restricted areas are also suspended until further notice. Masheke said veterinary and wildlife officials were deployed in the area to track down the buffalo and kill it. He said processed and ready-to-eat products such as sour milk, dry biltong, cheese, butter and yoghurt are allowed into and out of the restricted areas. All veterinary movement permits for animals originating from Eiseb, Otjinene, Rietfontein and Epukiro were cancelled. Intensified disease surveillance activities in susceptible livestock populations by veterinary officials have commenced in accordance with existing protocols. Roadblocks will be set up at strategic points to ensure compliance with the above measures. The entire commercial farming area in Namibia was proclaimed as a protected area in 2013 in order to prevent the introduction and spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the FMD-free zone of the country. The Waterberg Plateau Park is excluded from this proclamation and is home to a disease-free buffalo population.There are about 1 000 buffaloes in the park, whose carrying capacity is set at 400. For this reason, the environment ministry previously advertised buffaloes for sale to reduce grazing pressure and environmental degradation. Although local game ranches have shown interest in farming with buffalo, the agriculture ministry denied their request because it does not allow African buffalo outside proclaimed national parks, and therefore buffaloes can only be sold for export purposes.ELLANIE SMIT

Livestock movement banned in Omaheke

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-03

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Livestock movement banned in Omaheke

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-03

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