FMD cattle for Maun BMC slaughter
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday March 6, 2023 06:00
The Ministry took the decision to move the cattle to Maun in the wake of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Zone 6(b) in August last year. The cattle are taken to Maun for slaughter as the Francistown BMC abattoir is currently not in operation which means that MoA is incurring more costs to transport cattle to Maun, which is 491 kilometres away.
FMD was only detected in the villages north of Bisoli ranch namely Jackalas 1, Ramokgwebana, Tsamaya, Tshesebe, Butale, Senyawe, Siviya and Mabudzane.
Other villages within the zone include Matsiloje and Matshelagabedi extension areas, but till today FMD has not been detected in those areas.
Addressing the media last year in the aftermath of the discovery of FMD in some villages in the north east district, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Molebatsi Molebatsi said the government had set aside a P100 million war chest to control the spread of FMD in the zone.
Giving reasons why the cattle will be slaughtered, Molebatsi said: “After careful consideration of both short and long-term impacts on livelihoods, the economy, and the livestock industry, the government approved the strategy for eradicating FMD in Zone 6(b).
The overall objective of this strategy is to obtain green zone status as soon as possible, by depopulating all livestock and then populating the zone as soon as the green zone status is obtained.” Following Molebatsi and other senior government’s addresses, some farmers told him and his officers that they will take the government to court over the ‘low compensation’ that MoA was providing.
Speaking to Mmegi on Thursday, MoA’ s public relations officer in the north east, Kelebogile Mosarwe said the process of taking the cattle to Maun BMC for slaughter started on Wednesday. “The MoA has started the process of transporting cattle to the BMC in Maun on Wednesday. The ministry will be transporting 120 cattle everyday for slaughter. So far, we have started to collect cattle from Mabudzane, Pije and Jackalas 1 villages. Around 10,000 cattle will be taken to Maun and we anticipate that the process of taking them there will take three months or more,” said Mosarwe.
Asked how farmers are reacting to the process, Mosarwe stated that people in the affected villages are cooperating very well with MoA officials. “Members of the community are cooperating with us very well.
They are bringing their cattle to us in large numbers. We urge farmers to bring cattle with the Botswana Animal Identification and Traceability System (BAITS). Farmers should also bring valid certified copies of National Identity cards (Omang) and an affidavit from the chief showing that the cattle they are bringing belong to them. In addition, they should bring brand certificates and witnesses,” said Mosarwe.
In case the farmers are sending someone to bring cattle on their behalf, Mosarwe added, the person shall also bring the required documents with their certified copy of Omang. “We also plead with the farmers to dip their cattle before they bring them to us because we don’t accept cattle that have ticks,” said Mosarwe. Mosarwe also revealed that the process of counselling farmers or people who are affected by the culling exercise is still continuing.