Cattle farmers say, 'Not in my backyard'

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and cattle rustling have left ranchers along Botswana's border with Zimbabwe feeling less than neighbourly. Farmers in the FMD-hit villages around Maitengwe, north of Botswana's second city, Francistown, and Bobirwa to the east, near the border, told IRIN they were "fed up" with Zimbabwean thieves. They accused the government of failing to provide adequate border security and were demanding compensation. They also blamed Zimbabwe for an outbreak of FMD in 2003, when over 3,000 head of cattle were killed as part of the government's efforts to control the disease. A shortage of dipping chemicals, the break-up of large commercial farms and the resultant loss of fencing allowed the disease to spread from Zimbabwe to Botswana, causing Botswana's export beef industry, already limping after successive droughts and various epidemics, to collapse. "There are many people seeking compensation ... many people have lost everything to Zimbabweans ... goats, pigs, donkeys and cattle. A good number [of animals] are stolen deliberately for sale, but a lot more get mixed up with Zimbabwean herds at shared drinking holes," said Kennias Odirile, a livestock farmer. "From there they stray into Zimbabwe, and once [on] that side [of the border], they are gone forever, because the first person who meets the herd will steal it. They have cut the fences all over the border to ensure that our cattle can stray into their side, or to facilitate the driving of stolen cattle across the boundary." Communities along the border have been incensed by the government's decision not to electrify the 440km of border fence erected between the two countries, after an outcry by human rights organisations. Residents warned they intended taking the law into their hands, because putting the border fence on hold has left their livestock vulnerable. They also claimed that Zimbabweans drove their diseased cattle across the border to get rid of them. "Thieves drive our cattle across the border [into Zimbabwe] because they are not prevented from doing so," said one farmer, "and some bring their [diseased] cattle into our country ... Ours can be killed for mixing with theirs - government shoots the cattle and gives out P450 [about US$77] as compensation per beast. Three years ago, almost all the cattle here were killed to control another FMD outbreak, which we know came from Zimbabwe. Government should do something before we take unlawful measures to protect our herds." Community leaders in Bobirwa said they wanted compensation for mass cattle thefts dating back to 1990, and insisted that they had lost well over 2,000 cattle to Zimbabweans since 1990. "The incidents started off as isolated thefts of two or three cattle. Deliberate mass thefts started after the 1991-92 drought, because many cattle had strayed too far away from home ... [in search of grazing]" said a farmer. Another mass cattle theft in 1987 is cited by members of most communities. No one knows the actual number of cattle stolen, but according to deputy agriculture minister Peter Siele, the incident has become a bilateral issue that has been pending with Zimbabwe since then. "We have been working on the issue with the Zimbabwean government and we hope to find a solution soon. The farmers will certainly be compensated for losses once we clarify the situation around the incident," Siele told IRIN. Although Zimbabwe initially denied being the source of the latest FMD outbreak in Botswana, laboratory tests confirmed that it was FMD Southern Africa Type 2, a strain specific to Zimbabwe until the latest outbreak in Botswana. Two other strains, Southern Africa Type 1 and Type 3, have been found in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. Zimbabwean Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said he was not aware of the 1987 theft of Botswana cattle and referred questions to the police, who also denied knowledge of the incident. An official at the ministry of foreign affairs said he was not sure if the government was aware of the incident but promised to find out.