WINDHOEK – A total of 205 123 cattle were tagged in the 2013/14 financial year compared to the 826 611 cattle tagged in 2011 and 580 067 in 2012.
The Namibia Livestock Identification and Tracing System (NamLITS) was unified for the whole country in October 2013 to have one system for the north and south of the Veterinary Corridor Fence VCF). This system enables the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) to keep accurate records of animal diseases control and surveillance activities and trace the movements of animals in case of disease outbreak. It also allows for monitoring of breeding programmes as well as population dynamic and future projections.
Animal disease surveillance is a major activity of the DVS and in 2013, 1 774 community visits were done by the DVS inspecting 5 258 farms A total of 123 000 cattle in the Zambezi region, and 30 000 cattle in Mukwe and Ndiyona were vaccinated against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). The average coverage for vaccination of the disease was 90 percent.
In 2013, 141 623 cattle, 831 219 sheep and 9 160 goats were slaughtered under veterinary supervision at eight abattoirs.