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The South African Department of Agriculture (DoA) reported several new positive cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in cattle in the KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga provinces in April 2025. Following the announcement of the FMD outbreak, China suspended imports of cloven-hoofed animals and related products from South Africa.

FAS Accra (Post) successfully facilitated the transit of a small herd of high-value, reproductive Texas-bred V8 Brahman cattle. The cattle round-up started out in Texas making its way via Chicago to Doha with landfall in Coastal West Africa's Accra (Ghana). Post's expeditious intervention expedited Ghanaian (ECOWAS) import permits and sanitary clearances, as well as transit authorizations.

The United States Department of Agriculture, led by the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, finalized new export health certificates for several animal products in three West African countries.

After the 2023 outbreak of bluetongue disease in Europe, the bluetongue virus (BTV-3) has now spread to three Nordic countries. Denmark encountered the first case of bluetongue disease on August 9, Norway on September 6, and Sweden on September 12.

Previously exporters and importers of live animals and genetic materials only required a permit, but a new directive requires prior authorization from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s Animal Production Directorate before applying for the permit.

South Africa is currently facing the worst outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) since 2017 with seven of the nine provinces in the country reporting outbreaks.