Bame Piet
5 June 2008
Veterinary officers started killing cattle suspected to be infected with Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) yesterday in the Okavango area, amid complaints by farmers that the exercise will leave them impoverished.
Speaking in a telephone interview from Sehithwa, Mogotsi Makgetho complained that the officers were shooting any animal they suspected not to have been vaccinated and that they were not rounding them up in one place for checking. He said they have tried to plead with the government that the killing was going to leave them impoverished and have unsuccessfully suggested vaccination.
"Foot and Mouth disease is like any other disease and government should have opted for vaccination instead of slaughtering our cattle," he said. Makgetho said that he did not know where some of his cattle were - whether they had already been shot or not. He added that the carcasses were buried at a place called Murambachikoto far way from the village.
However, FMD coordinator and deputy director, Dr. Moetapele Letshwenyo said that only the animals without owners are shot. He said that in some cases, the animals need someone to round them up and bring them for vaccination and there is nobody to do that except the veterinary officers. He further explained that in situations where the owners are present and they verify ownership with the police and the animal is found to be free of FMD and other diseases, they are given the carcass to consume. However, where there is nobody to claim the animals, the carcasses are buried at designated burial pits.
"The animals normally shot are those that are very wild, which have probably missed several vaccinations in the past. Some of the animals shot do not even have owner's brands. We noted that such animals do not have bolus, probably due to their wild nature - such animals are of no use to anyone, as they cannot even be marketed," he said. He added that slaughtering is the last resort. Letshwenyo said that their teams are spread throughout Ngamiland District and they are hoping to complete the exercise on June 11.
An estimated 230,000 animals live in the Okavango area and some Members of Parliament have complained about a destroyed buffalo fence, which has resulted in cattle mixing with wild animals. This is not the first time cattle have had to be killed in Ngamiland. In 1995, the spread of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia in cattle affected the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) exports as the government was forced to slaughter 250,000 cattle in the Ngamiland region - leading to the closure of Maun abattoir.
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