A fence to separate livestock in Omusati from livestock in Kunene region would be the first visible activity of the long-awaited removal of the cordon fence.

Huebschle was speaking at a meeting on the relocation of the cordon fence in Kunene on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by more than 300 farmers from the region.

He said that Namibia has more than three million cattle and three million small stock but that the local community could not consume all this meat on its own and needed to sell it elsewhere.

"Meat is just one thing the customers of the Namibian meat in Europe want but they want to know more, like to whom the meat that they are eating belonged, when it was born and so on," noted Huebschle.

He said that it is the legitimate right of every farmer, be it in commercial or communal area, behind or in the Red Line, to get paid well for his/her livestock.

"We as Namibians have to follow the law of the country, like that every livestock that is six months old has to be branded if it belongs to somebody and that it must have a tag on the ear."

According to Huebschle, the Kunene region is better off in controlling livestock diseases than Omusati region and that is why the livestock in Omusati should not be brought into Kunene region in order to ensure that diseases are not transferred from one region to another.

The meeting was aimed at getting the commitment from the Traditional Authorities in the region and the Regional Authorities on the effort to relocate the Red Line.

Huebschle added that the Government was looking at ways of getting livestock of farmers behind the cordon fence to attract international market prices.

"We have to give proof that we tested a number of livestock and all of them have proven to be free of foot-and-mouth disease or any other diseases," he said.

He said that the cordon fence would remain and that it would be used as a controlling fence in disease outbreaks.

Chief Paulus Tjavara of the Otjikaoko Traditional Authority supported the relocation of the cordon fence.

The governor of Kunene region, Dudu Murorura, who was the head of the delegation of the cordon fence relocation committee that went to Botswana, said that the regional council is committed to ensuring that animal diseases are totally eradicated from the region.

- Nampa

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