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No movement permits for unregistered cattle

The Directorate of Veterinary Services announced this week that no movement permits will be issued for cattle that has not been registered on The Namibia Livestock Identification and Traceability System (NamLITS) data base as from 1 April.
This applies to any movement of cattle between cattle inspection units, such as farms, auctions, abattoirs and exports.
Dr Susanne Thalwitzer, coordinator of the FAN Meat Scheme at the Meat Board of Namibia, said that according to the Animal Identification Regulations all cattle have to be tagged by means of the new official ear tags and must be registered on the NamLITS database.
The decision to stop the movement of cattle without any permits was taken recently after tagging and registration ended in August last year.
However, an official at the Directorate of Veterinary Services said, that the directorate has not stopped the issuing of permits and that permits for small stock can still be obtained.
The official further said that if situations require a person to move cattle that is not tagged and registered, permission for very special circumstances may be granted by the department of Animal Disease Control.
According to the Meat Board of Namibia’s website, the board granted an amount of N$1.5 million for the financing and support of the NamLITS data base, which is a prerequisite for retaining Namibia’s export markets.
“The responsibility and integrity of NamLITS is that of the Directorate of Veterinary Services, while the Meat Board provides technical support only as far as the hard- and software is concerned. A substantial amount of the money will also be utilised to establish NamLITS north of the Veterinary Cordon Fence,” it said.

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