Sierra Leone bans meat imports from Liberia

Sierra Leonean authorities have banned the movement of cattle from Liberia, as well as the import of meat from the neighbouring country, due to the still unexplained death of 36 cows in a border area, they said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to Monrovia, an investigation is underway into the causes of the death of cattle in early July in a field in the town of Kelima Bendu, in Lofa County, about ten kilometres from the Sierra Leone border and about fifteen of Guinea.

Liberian authorities have not said when the results of the investigation will be known.

Sierra Leone has banned the movement of cattle, goats and sheep along the border with Liberia, the import of meat products from that country, temporarily closed livestock markets in the border area and increased surveillance in slaughterhouses.

In May 2022, an anthrax epidemic broke out in Sierra Leone, killing more than 200 animals.

Transmitted by spores that can remain inactive for decades in the soil, this disease, called anthrax in English, is transmissible to humans and potentially fatal in its rarest forms.

"So far, no cases of dead cattle have been found in other parts of Lofa or other counties," Liberia's agriculture ministry said on July 7.