Harare | Tuesday
ZIMBABWE’S struggling economy has suffered another blow with an outbreak of foot-and-mouth cattle disease, forcing a halt in beef exports, newspaper reports said on Tuesday.
The outbreak was detected August 16 outside Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo, according to the privately owned Daily News.
Some 800 of 7 680 cattle awaiting slaughter for export were believed to be infected in the Willsgrove Feedlot, at the parastatal Cold Storage Company, the paper said.
“As a precautionary measure, beef exports to the European Union and other markets have been suspended until the situation is clear,” agriculture secretary Ngoni Masoka told the state-run Herald newspaper.
Veterinary officials could not be reached for comment.
Zimbabwe exports beef to the EU, South Africa, and other African and Asian markets.
Annual exports total more than $86-million, according to the Herald.
Masoka said the Department of Veterinary Services had enough vaccines to deal with the outbreak.
The outbreak began after occupiers planning to resettle white-owned ranches took down perimeter fences, leaving cattle to mingle with wild animals from game parks, according to the Daily News.
An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain earlier this year led to a massive slaughter of cattle. The disease is harmless to humans but renders livestock virtually worthless. – AFP