Iraq dismisses plague-infected cattle claims at Umm Qasr

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture has dismissed allegations regarding a shipment of cattle at Umm Qasr Port being infected with plague, assuring the public that the animals have undergone rigorous health inspections and are “disease-free.”
In a statement, Ministry Advisor Mahdi Damad Al-Qaisi confirmed that a specialized committee, comprising members of the Veterinary Directorate, the Director of the Veterinary Hospital in Basra, and other relevant authorities, thoroughly inspected the shipment and the vessel.
“The entire cargo and the ship were examined, and no cases of any disease, including the plague, were recorded,” Al-Qaisi stated.
He emphasized that the shipment complied with Iraq's “Import of Live Animals Regulation No. 1 of 2010” and urged caution in spreading misinformation. “We encourage the public to verify facts through official sources and avoid circulating unverified claims,” he added.
Meanwhile, yesterday, Basra’s Veterinary Hospital Director, Riyadh Mohammed, echoed the ministry's reassurances, dismissing the claims as unfounded. “Plague is a disease that has been eradicated for a long time, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed its absence,” he told Shafaq News.
Mohammed reiterated that the cattle were inspected thoroughly and found to be in “good health.”
Notably, the ministry's response follows allegations by MP Sahira Al-Jubouri, who claimed the shipment posed a grave risk to Iraq’s livestock.
Iraq has faced recurring issues with importing diseased livestock and contaminated meat, raising serious public health and economic concerns. Incidents such as the detection of Bovine Tuberculosis in Wasit province in 2017 led the Kurdistan Regional Government to ban animal and red meat imports from southern Iraq.
Similarly, international concerns arose in 2024 when China banned ruminant imports from Iraq after an outbreak of bluetongue disease in sheep.