Niël Terblanché
The ministry of agriculture’s directorate of veterinary services (DVS) has quietly lifted a long-standing restriction on livestock products entering Namibia’s foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) free zone.
A public notice issued last week by acting chief veterinary officer Dr Johannes Shoopala stated that dried meat from cloven-hoofed animals can now cross the veterinary cordon fence, commonly known as the red line, without a permit.
This is allowed only if all portions of the meat are cooked and free of blood.
Shoopala said boiling the meat remains the safest method of preparation.
“Raw meat that is not produced under Commodity-Based Trade (CBT) is not allowed since the FMD virus survives in animals’ tissues, including lymph nodes and bone marrow,” he said.
The rule is intended to safeguard the country’s FMD-free status with the World Organisation for Animal Health, which supports beef exports to Europe and Asia.
While raw meat from export-approved abattoirs can still move south under CBT conditions and with a veterinary health certificate, the DVS reminded traders that unregistered animal feed still requires a permit.
Products from non-cloven-hoofed animals, such as poultry, equines, and fish, remain unrestricted as long as they are free of manure from cloven-hoofed animals.
Although the change received little fanfare, it immediately drew praise and fresh criticism from the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) Movement.
The party has long campaigned for the total dismantling of the red line.
In a statement on Sunday, AR activist and member of parliament George Kambala welcomed the move but called it only a step forward in addressing what he described as economic and spatial injustice caused by the red line.
Kambala said the fence, first put up under South African rule in the 1890s and realigned several times since, continues to block communal farmers in the north from accessing higher-value southern markets.
“The time for half-measures is over. Dismantle the red line. Open up the country. Let the people trade,” he said.
Kambala pointed to a government-commissioned study that suggested phasing out the cordon fence in favour of disease surveillance and vaccination. He said full liberalisation would grow the meat industry, create jobs, and help reduce hunger and poverty.
Government veterinarians, however, remain wary.
They point to FMD outbreaks in Angola and Zambia over the past decade that cost millions in lost trade.
By keeping a certified FMD-free zone south of the fence, Namibia has gained access to premium beef markets and built a strong export industry.
The DVS said any future changes must align with the World Organisation for Animal Health’s code, which requires a clear separation between infected and disease-free areas.
The veterinary fence, once meant to control disease, has become central to the country’s debate about trade, equity, and colonial-era regulations.
