13 Apr 2016

Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Boipolelo Khumomatlhare has assured the public that his ministry is making investigations to determine the impact made by the incursion of a buffalo in Zone 11, which includes Southern, Kweneng, Kgatleng and South East districts.

The ministry suspended movement of cloven hoofed animals in Zone 11 earlier this week after a buffalo trespassed at Moreane crush in the Letlhakane East extension in the Southern District.  

Mr Khumomatlhare explained in Gaborone that officers from Botswana Police Services, Department of Veterinary Services, and Department of Wildlife and National Parks searched and immediately killed the buffalo on Sunday.

“The investigations are meant to determine the possible origin of the buffalo and to determine the affected crush populations with a view to carry out the necessary surveillance. “The presence of buffaloes in the heart of our EU (European Union) export Zone calls for an urgent need for their removal,” Mr Khumomatlhare explained in a press conference.

He said exports of beef to all trading partners have been suspended with immediate effect. He explained that they have notified the trading partners in Africa and the European Union about the move to suspend slaughter of animals.

He stated that they have dispersed a search team to determine if there were still any buffaloes in the area.  He said it was difficult to tell how long the suspension on sale of beef to trading partners will last because investigations were going on.

Mr Khumomatlhare said that they were still waiting for results of a test on blood sample from the buffalo to know whether there were any threats of Foot and Mouth Disease in the area. He said the area has around 700 000 herds of cattle.

The deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Kekgonne Baipoledi said many livestock slaughtered by the Botswana Meat Commission abattoir in Lobatse are either from Zone 11 or pass through the area and it is therefore important to keep the area clean of Foot and Mouth Disease.

He therefore urged farmers and the rest of the public to adhere to restrictions on movement of cloven hoofed animals in zone 11. “It (Zone 11) is our bread-basket in terms of beef export. We therefore need a concerted effort to resolve this matter in the shortest time possible.

It would be suicidal to move the animals around at this time,” he said. ENDS