Windhoek — The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry is considering erecting a fence along the Namibia-Angola border to improve the animal health status north of the veterinary cordon fence.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Isak Katali, said last week the ministry is in the process of drafting a new strategy in this regard.

He said the construction of the fence was the ultimate goal for rapidly improving the animal health status north of the Red Line.

However, he said, the ministry would advise the meat industry on alternative ways of improving the status of animal health in those areas without the fence being put up first.

Katali said this last week when he received three vehicles from the Meat Board of Namibia to help control the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the two north-eastern regions.

The first outbreak in eastern Caprivi, east of Katima Mulilo, was detected at Nankuntwe on November 14 last year and has since spread to 21 other crush pens, with the latest outbreak detected at Isuswa almost two weeks ago.

In the Kavango Region, where the disease last broke out 16 years ago, veterinary officials detected the outbreak at Kamutjonga village in the Mukwe Constituency. So far, the disease has spread to seven other villages, namely Bagani, Mwitjiku, Kanorombwe, Dimwagha, Shamavhinyo, Shutu and Kanngundja.

The two regions combined have 1067 clinical cases of foot-and-mouth disease. Only one death at Nankuntwe in Caprivi has been reported throughout the period.

Katali said the vehicles will help the officials move to the affected areas. Shortage of vehicles has been one of the problems affecting the work of veterinary officials, said Katali.

He said the ministry appreciated the financial support from the Meat Board and producers in the foot-and-mouth disease survey north of the veterinary cordon fence, the repair of the Namibia-Botswana border fence, the repair of the quarantine camps north of the Red Line and the processing of traceability registers as well as maintaining the traceability database.

Meat Board Chairperson, Job Hengari, said the board's contribution was aimed at helping the officials visit the areas to curb and contain the current outbreak. The board used money from the animal health fund to buy the vehicles.