November 28, 2005

Brazil and Paraguay to collaborate against FMD

The governments of Brazil and Paraguay have agreed to formalise efforts to combat the spread of FMD, Brazil's Agriculture Ministry of Brazil said Thursday.

The accord calls for better animal monitoring and joint vaccinations in February along a 1,000-mile long border where animals have been known to roam freely between the two countries.

The measures, which take effect in December, will be administered by government veterinarians and animal health authorities from Brazil and Paraguay, the Agriculture Ministry said. All properties within 25 kilometres of the border will have to be registered with both governments, while animals will be required to wear identification badges with colours that identify their country of origin. The agreement also calls on animal health officials in Brazil and Paraguay to train new animal health monitors and teach ranchers about animal health and safety.

Last month, Paraguayan officials in Brasilia sent an official complaint to the Brazilian government for having stepped across the border to test animals for FMD on a Brazilian-owned ranch in Paraguay.

"This (accord) makes us a little less nervous because it will reduce the risk of animals with the virus walking from one country to the other," said Brazil's Agriculture Defense Secretary Gabriel Alves Maciel in a press statement. Maciel signed the accord Wednesday in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Brazil has a similar accord addressing border issues with Bolivia.

Twenty-five farms in Mato Grosso do Sul had cattle with FMD. The vast majority of the properties were along the border with Paraguay.

Brazil is the world's no. 1 beef exporter and has the world's largest cattle herd at 200 million bovines, compared with 8 million bovines in Paraguay.