Cocktail of livestock diseases stretch veterinary services

Hopes that Zimbabwe could resume beef exports to the lucrative European Union (EU) market before the end of this year have been dashed by a widespread outbreak of highly contagious diseases the veterinary services are struggling to contain. Harare's beef exports to the EU were suspended in August 2001 following repeated outbreaks of foot-and-mouth. The principal director in the department of veterinary services, Stuart Hargreaves, said chronic foreign currency shortages had defeated the department's efforts to control the resurgence of foot-and-mouth, anthrax and various other tick-borne ailments. "We need about US$2 million to run control programmes for the rest of this year," he noted. Lumpy skin disease, for example, was affecting each province, but Zimbabwe was competing with better-off neighbours to import vaccines form a single South African supplier. Despite the crumbling of services, the department has not given up on its disease control efforts. Hargreaves said the fencing off two national parks had just been completed to prevent the mingling of wildlife - especially buffaloes that carry foot-and-mouth - with domestic animals. The chairperson of the Cattle Producers Association, Maryna Erasmus, told IRIN the current disease explosion was a result of illegal cattle movements that characterised the chaotic government-backed commercial farm invasions that began in 2000. He said diseases were introduced into new areas or reinfected previously cleansed zones. "There is a countrywide outbreak of tick-borne diseases such as heart-water, red water, gall sickness, lumpy skin disease, three-day-stiff sickness and anthrax. Some farmers can handle these ailments, but they do not have the vaccines. It is worse in the communal areas because dip-tanks have not been working for two years in some areas. Farmers who can afford basic vaccines cannot find them. Government blames all this on foreign currency shortages," said Erasmus. Before the suspension of the EU beef quota, Zimbabwe earned US$38 million annually from its beef exports, representing 4 percent of the country's total foreign currency earnings. Repeated efforts to revive EU sales have failed although trade deals in other beef products remains operational. Cold Storage Commission marketing board member Lovegot Tendengu told IRIN that the loss of the beef export agreement was a major blow to the country. He added that it would be impossible to revive the industry until the epidemics were brought under control.