The Namibian government's plan to cull livestock as part of its response to the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak has raised concerns about who will bear the financial burden of destroying animals to contain the disease. According to Romeo Muyunda, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, culling is being considered as one of the measures to reduce the spread of FMD, particularly in affected and high-risk areas. The modalities for culling are currently being worked out.
The possible culling comes as the government has invoked the Animal Health Act in its response to the outbreak in the Karasburg Veterinary District. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said in her address on the outbreak that the Cabinet had met on 4 October to determine interventions required under the Animal Health Act and had directed the immediate implementation of relevant provisions of the law. As of 5 October, 29 313 animals across 68 farms had been inspected, with 127 confirmed positive cases recorded across 15 farms.
The Animal Health Act gives veterinary authorities extensive powers to destroy livestock in circumstances involving disease outbreaks. Section 29 allows animals seized or isolated under the Act to be destroyed where effective isolation or treatment is not practical, the cost of isolation and treatment would exceed the animal’s estimated value, or no effective means of treatment or isolation is available. The law also provides for destruction during an outbreak or suspected outbreak of a disease that poses a serious risk to human or animal health.
However, the legislation does not state that farmers must absorb the value of animals destroyed for disease control without compensation. Section 30 provides that an owner is entitled to compensation where an animal is destroyed by, or at the direction of, a veterinary official for the purpose of controlling a disease and the owner suffers a loss as a result. Compensation is capped at the fair market value of the animal at the time of destruction, less the value of its carcass.
Farmers have expressed concerns that the legislation creates a distinction between compensation for the animal itself and other financial costs incurred by a farmer as a consequence of an outbreak. The Act also allows the State to recover reasonable expenses relating to the removal, keeping, care and treatment of animals seized under the disease-control provisions from the owner. This could create a significant financial issue for livestock producers if large-scale culling is ordered.
The government has acknowledged the financial strain already being experienced by farmers and businesses as a result of movement restrictions and disruptions to trade. President Nandi-Ndaitwah said the government would continue to assess these effects and engage relevant stakeholders to ensure that this animal health crisis does not lead to prolonged financial distress for otherwise viable farmers and businesses.
The ministry has yet to announce how any proposed FMD culling programme would operate, which animals would be targeted, how valuations would be conducted, who would bear the operational costs and how compensation claims would be processed. Farmers are reportedly already facing movement restrictions, disrupted markets and uncertainty over their livestock, especially after the European Union suspended fresh beef, sheep and goat exports from Namibia.
Key points
- The Namibian government is considering culling livestock to contain the Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak.
- The Animal Health Act provides for compensation to farmers for destroyed animals, but caps it at the fair market value of the animal.
- Farmers are concerned about the financial burden of disease-control measures, including movement restrictions and disruptions to trade.
