‘Cross-border livestock theft could spread FMD’

Botswana’s parliamentary committee on agriculture has warned that livestock in that country is at risk of being infected with foot-andmouth disease (FMD) from Zimbabwe, due to rising cases of cross-border livestock theft, and the mixing of livestock between the two countries.

The committee recently indicated that the eastern part of Botswana’s border with Zimbabwe was a green zone, which meant that it was an FMD-free area. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwean side of the border, where the cattle stolen from Botswana were normally found, was a red zone, meaning FMD was prevalent there.

Speaking during a Botswanan parliamentary session in late April, Mephato Reatile, agriculture committee chairperson and MP, cautioned authorities that

Botswana could experience an FMD outbreak because of challenges in controlling the movement of cattle between that country and Zimbabwe’s red zone.

He added that cattle from Zimbabwe’s red zone also often looked for grazing in Botswana, and warned that this additional cross-border movement could result in the transmission of FMD to livestock in Botswana.

In a research report about the control of FMD in Botswana, Mokganedi Mokopasetso, a researcher at the Botswana Vaccine Institute, said that Botswana and Zimbabwe had FMDcontrol measures in place, including soldiers who patrolled the border to prevent the movement and mixing of livestock.

However, both countries continued to record instances of the illegal cross-border movement of cattle as a result of livestock theft, as well as damage to cordon and border fences.

According to Mokopasetso, the majority of farmers in Botswana considered livestock theft to be the biggest challenge to FMD control for the two countries.

“The [main] constraints to FMD control are livestock theft, damage to veterinary cordon fences, the lack of protection zones, and wild animals,” he said.

Mokopasetso added that criminals were cutting the fences in order to smuggle goods, particularly livestock, across the border between the two countries.

“This criminal activity [increases] the likelihood of transmitting FMD through products derived from cloven-hoofed animals, such as fresh milk and meat, as well as other disease-carrying goods, which [would normally be disposed of] at official checkpoints, as dictated by movement protocols,” he said.

Mokopasetso added that cattle stolen along the cordon fence from either country were being driven further away from their usual grazing points, and were then exchanged for another batch of stolen livestock from the neighbouring country.

“In some instances, stolen livestock from Botswana are moved from the area of entry and later driven back into Botswana at a different locale, where they are reared or sold.

“A scenario such as this would inevitably increase the risk of exposure to FMD for the whole region,” he warned. – Tshiamo Tabane