Namibia’s leading meat processing and marketing entity Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) has welcomed the latest developments announced by the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) through Veterinary Public Notification No. 16 of 2026, which provides for the partial lifting of restrictions imposed following the detection of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in the Karasburg Veterinary District.

The announcement follows intensified surveillance, livestock inspection and traceability work by the veterinary authorities.

Preliminary findings indicate that the disease remains localised in the
//Kharas region. Importantly, livestock that had moved from the infected farm to the Otjozondjupa region were successfully traced and tested negative for FMD, allowing that herd to be
cleared of infection.

The revised measures provide for the partial lifting of restrictions north of the Veterinary Cordon Fence and in areas south of the Veterinary Cordon Fence, excluding the //Kharas region.

The notice also provides for slaughter under prescribed veterinary and biosecurity conditions and permit the movement and trade of specified processed animal products countrywide.

“For Meatco, these developments demonstrate something of wider importance to Namibia’s livestock industry: our ability as a country to respond quickly and progressively to return parts of the livestock value chain to normal activity is underpinned by the animal-health, surveillance and traceability systems Namibia has built over many years,” said Meatco’s deputy chairperson Stephanie de Klerk.

She continued: “As an export-oriented beef industry, Namibia depends on the continued credibility of these systems. They are essential not only for disease control but also for protecting producer and employee livelihoods, safeguarding our national herd and sustaining confidence in Namibian beef in
domestic and international markets.”

De Klerk added that Meatco will continue to cooperate fully with the DVS and other stakeholders and will align its procurement, slaughter and market activities with the applicable veterinary requirements. While the latest developments are encouraging, the situation continues to require vigilance. Meatco has therefore called on producers and all stakeholders across the livestock value chain to continue complying fully with the measures and guidance issued by the veterinary authorities

-ohembapu@nepc.com.na