Farmer Louw denies smuggling FMD-infected cattle

Karasburg-based farmer and renowned businessman Adriaan ‘AJ’ Louw has distanced himself from widely circulated assertions that Namibia’s Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak was triggered by animals that were illegally vaccinated and smuggled to Farm Graswater, where he operates his cross-border agricultural logistics and trade business.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, Louw said the allegations of him smuggling animals into the southern borders of the country and illegally administering FMD vaccines on his cattle are “entirely false” and seeks to undermine the collective efforts of government and farmers to contain the spread of the virus.

“It is deeply regrettable that during an already extremely difficult time for the farming community, false allegations are being circulated on social media, attempting to link me personally to the current FMD outbreak in Namibia. Claims that I smuggled animals into Namibia, illegally vaccinated animals, or was responsible for introducing FMD are entirely false and without factual basis. For clarity, the first positive case was detected during a routine veterinary inspection at Graswater, a farm belonging to my mother,” said Louw, who also spoke to New Era yesterday.

He said the first cases were detected at Farm Graswater during a routine veterinary inspection by the Directorate of Veterinary Services, and thereafter other multiple cases were later also detected at neighbouring farms and at farms in the vicinity of the Ariamsvlei border post.

“The first farm on which FMD happens to be detected should therefore not automatically be assumed to be the source of the outbreak. Two farms associated with me subsequently tested positive, as have many other farms in the region. A positive test does not establish where the virus originated or who introduced it. We have cooperated fully with the veterinary services from the outset and will continue to comply with lawful testing, quarantine and disease-control measures…”

“The origin and transmission of an FMD outbreak of this scale are matters for qualified veterinary experts and the competent authorities to determine through proper epidemiological investigations. Speculation on social media does not establish facts. I therefore respectfully ask people to stop circulating unverified allegations involving my name. Anyone who genuinely possesses evidence of unlawful conduct should provide it to the appropriate authorities,” stated Louw.

He added: “My thoughts are with every farmer, farmworker and families affected by this outbreak. This is a time for cooperation, responsible disease control and support for the farming community, and not blame based on rumours.”

**No blame games **

On Wednesday in Parliament, agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani called on the farming community and general public to remain focused on the main object at hand, which is to contain and eradicate the FMD outbreak and eventually reopen the local livestock market.

Zaamwani’s call was prompted by Nudo parliamentarian Vetaruhe Kandorozu’s questions on who the source of Namibia’s FMD outbreak is and how the devasting disease entered the country’s southern borders.

Kandorozu said while he fully appreciates government’s ongoing efforts to contain the spread of FMD, there was however still no clarity as to how the disease entered Namibia and who was responsible for such “negligence.”

In response, Zaamwani said investigations around the cause and source of the current FMD outbreak were underway and asked that animal health experts be accorded the time and opportunity to come up with science-backed findings to the problem.

“But right now, I think our focus should be containing this virus and make sure that it is eradicated. Investigations on the cause and source of the FMD outbreak were currently underway, and I want to ask that we give our animal health experts some time to do their job and provide feedback. If I go into who and how the disease came into the country, I will compromise the investigations. Let’s remain calm and focus on fighting this disease,” said Zaamwani.

She also shared that government opted to vaccinate FMD-hit cattle rather than cull them as culling is no longer a viable option based on findings by the veterinary experts.

Culling is only highly effective within 24 to 48 hours of detection, and since more than a week has passed, vaccination is the most viable strategy, she explained.

**Doses from Zambezi **

The minister also revealed on Wednesday that government is busy redirecting consignments of over 100 000 FMD doses from available stock in the Zambezi region to the Karasburg Veterinary District in the //Kharas region to kickstart the vaccination campaign.

“We are now busy setting up suitable cold storage facilities closer to the affected areas in the south to preserve vaccine integrity. We need a big place to store all these consignments. The deployment will follow a perimeter-to-epicentre approach, meaning teams will vaccinate eligible livestock starting from the boundaries of the designated containment zone and move inward toward the epicentre of the outbreak,” the minister outlined.

She also strictly warned farmers not to independently vaccinate or move their livestock, as all operations must be handled strictly by the Directorate of Veterinary Services to protect regional tracking data.

-ohembapu@nepc.com.na

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