Beef Industry Must Act Responsibly

THE latest revelation of animal smuggling across the border to South Africa by suspected Namibian livestock exporters should be nipped in the bud.

Although the Namibia Agricultural Union and the Livestock Producers’ Organisation admitted that ‘absurdities [irregularities] do take place but on a limited scale’ and called for the culprits to be brought to book, we call for a full-scale investigation into the matter to ensure that the billion-dollar industry is not compromised and go under as happened with the ostrich industry. In 1993, Namibia’s meat export industry was rocked by one of the biggest scams ever when the High Court dealt with what became known as the ‘Great Namibian Ostrich Trial’.For several months the court heard how ostrich smuggling took place between Namibia and Boshof, in the western Free State, with small planes used to fly across the border by night carrying live ostriches and ostrich genetic material.In other cases farmers would drive up to remote sand dunes on the Namibian border, cut holes in the fence and chase their birds through to accomplices on the other side. Ostrich tracks were covered with corn scattered to attract guinea fowl, while they would also wipe battery acid on the fence wires to make the cuts look old.The scam was detected by accident.One of the small planes carrying the birds crash-landed after the ostriches shuffled forward and the owners tried to destroy evidence by cutting up and throwing plane parts into a pit.It was a sensational trial which included ostrich DNA tests to see whether the birds were wild but one of the main culprits, Timo Voges, got away with a small fine of N$400 for interfering with the investigation of an aircraft accident. He got off on almost all 137 counts.What came to light through that trial was that although smuggling of ostriches was illegal many farmers in the industry did it on both sides of the border. The ostrich industry, which had been hailed as the future of Namibia’s meat exports, went bust. Smuggling was the only contributing factor that brought this once thriving industry to its knees.Beef producers must protect their industry and not allow any sort of smuggling or other irregularities to compromise the good name of their industry in view of revelations of cattle smuggling, again between the two countries.The first reports appeared in November last year, when the South African authorities said they were investigating sheep smuggling from Namibia and that several individuals had already been penalised.It was revealed by South African-based agricultural watchdog Agri Inspec. The Namibian Meat Board reacted with anger, demanding evidence because it ‘is serious in curtailing transgressions of such nature and maintains and builds the integrity of the Namibian meat industry’.This week the Namibia Agricultural Union and the Livestock Producers’ Organisation of Namibia admitted there were irregularities with beef exports to South Africa, but said these were not on the scale alleged by Agri Inspec.The meat industry in Namibia is worth an estimated N$3 billion annually. In the past two years the country has made history by becoming the first African country to start exporting free-range certified beef, which consists of three high-quality products, Nature’s Reserve Choice, Nature’s Reserve Finest and Nature’s Reserve Select. It means the beef comes from farms where cattle roam freely and feed on natural grasslands. We serve a very sensitive European market and any illegal movement of animals will compromise our international industry standards while posing a threat to export markets and loss of income for the country as a whole and for individual farmers.It is our appeal that we should move away from get-rich-quick schemes that encourage illegal movement of animals and concentrate on building up an industry known for its high standards of ethics and quality.Although it is still too early to say to what extent, if any, smuggling has taken place, it is never too early to call on all involved to act responsibly.