Namibia battles cattle disease outbreak as EU suspends several meat imports
Foot-and-mouth disease threatens livestock farmers’ livelihoods and disrupts meat supplies as authorities impose curbs.
Key points
- Namibia confirmed foot-and-mouth disease in the //Kharas Region on September 23, 2026, and later in the Zambezi Region.
- The EU temporarily suspended specified fresh and processed meat imports from Namibia's NA-1 export zone.
- Meatco placed about 400 production workers on three weeks of special leave with full pay.
Namibia is battling an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that has spread to two regions and prompted the European Union to temporarily suspend imports of specified meat products from the country's previously authorised export zone, NA-1.
The Directorate of Veterinary Services confirmed the outbreak on a commercial farm in the Karasburg State Veterinary District in the southern //Kharas Region on September 23, 2026. On October 7, laboratory tests confirmed FMD in cattle at Kalala Island in the Kabbe constituency of the Zambezi Region in northern Namibia.
Scale of the outbreak
In an address on October 5, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said surveillance teams had recorded 127 positive cases across 15 farms and inspected 29,313 animals across 68 farms. The government established 20 surveillance teams and 10 roadblocks in the region.
In an update covering the situation as of October 6, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform reported 129 positive animal samples and 17 confirmed infected farms. Veterinary teams had inspected 72 of 81 targeted farms.
The outbreak has been a heavy blow to our country. The restrictions are painful, but they are necessary, and the NAU supports them.
— Marianne Pretorius
Restrictions and response
A public notification on October 10 outlined restrictions across the Zambezi Region, including suspending the movement of cloven-hoofed animals and their raw products, cancelling movement permits, and halting livestock auctions, informal markets and animal-gathering events. Slaughter at local abattoirs, informal markets and social events was also suspended, while export abattoirs may continue for eligible cattle under the commodity-based trade system.
Emergency vaccination has begun in the affected area. Namibia notified the World Organisation for Animal Health and began building a veterinary cordon fence along the Orange River in the //Kharas Region in October. Meatco placed about 400 production workers on three weeks of special leave with full pay, with the situation due to be reviewed on October 23.
Impact on farmers and vendors
Marianne Pretorius, head of communications at the Namibia Agricultural Union, told Al Jazeera the outbreak was a heavy blow and that the restrictions, while painful, were necessary. She said that when export markets close, every livestock producer in the country feels it, and warned prices may stay under pressure until markets reopen.
Gert Engelbrecht, a 40-year-old farmer from Aranos, said restrictions had caused financial and emotional strain. Vendors at Windhoek's Single Quarter market reported slow business and difficulty buying meat, with one saying that if the situation continues for three months, it will be very bad for them.
