The Department of Agriculture confirms African Horse Sickness in Cederberg and imposes movement controls

30 October 2026

South Africa's Department of Agriculture has confirmed a case of African Horse Sickness (AHS) in a single animal on a property in the Cederberg Local Municipality. Laboratory tests at the University of Pretoria's Veterinary Genetics Laboratory identified AHS virus serotype 7. The property lies inside the country's established AHS Protection Zone, and an outbreak containment area has been declared around it. Movement in the controlled area normally needs a permit from State Vet: Boland, and the department will issue no permits to move horses out of the affected area. Legal backing for the curbs comes from the Animal Diseases Act, 1984, read with the contingency plan of the provincial agriculture department in the Western Cape. Owners have been advised to stable horses from two hours before sunset to two hours after sunrise and to use registered repellents against Culicoides midges, the insects that spread the virus. Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp said there is no proof of large-scale disease activity beyond the property.