The United Arab Emirates this week banned the importation of all types of live animals with cloven hooves, their meat products and wastes from Botswana amid reports of a Foot and Mouth outbreak in the country.
UAM Minister of Environment and Water, Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, who issued the ministerial decision imposing the ban, explained that the resolution was based on the report from the World Organisation for Animal Health on the registered cases of the FMD in the country.
The resolution, however, exempted animal products subjected to heat and waste treatment in accordance with the methods recommended in the Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health. The treatment methods must be included in the health certificate attached to the consignment.
They also stipulated that the meat imports should come from the slaughterhouses under the supervision of an Islamic centre endorsed by the United Arab Emirates. Botswana is currently battling to contain a FMD outbreak in zones 6 and 7 of the North East and Bobirwa areas.
Minister of Agriculture, Christian De Graaff, told farmers last week that government has decided to kill 21 000 cattle in zone 6 and a further 2 000 cattle in zone 7 in order to contain the disease from spreading to other areas.
