Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) and its partners have announced a temporal ban on movements of cattle, goats and sheep along the Liberia – Sierra Leone boarder.
The ban is following confirmed reports from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in Liberia, through its Field Office in Lofa County on the discovery of cluster of dead cattle in a field in Kelima Bendu town, Foyah district.
Further instituting preventive measures, the MAFS has also announced the prohibition of entrance of meat and meat products from Liberia into Sierra Leone; restriction of movement of cattle, goats, and sheep from Kailahun, Kenema and Pujehun to other districts in Sierra Leone and temporarily closing all livestock markets in Kailahun, Kenema and Pujehun.
In addition, the MAFS and its partners have step-up surveillance in slaughterhouses, for sick animals and humans with signs and symptoms of anthrax in Kailahun, Kenema and Pujehun.
Thirty-six cows were found dead on Thursday, July 6, 2023, in the cow fields along the Foya- Mendekorma Highway at Kelima Bendu Town four miles from the border with Kailahun district.
The suspicious death of the cattle in Lofa County, Liberia prompted health officials to collect samples from the carcasses to determine whether the deaths were caused by an infectious disease or chemical poisoning.
