Syria inspects 10,000 Brazilian calves bound for Iraq

BAGHDAD — Syrian agricultural authorities in Tartus have completed veterinary and health inspections on a shipment of 10,000 calves imported from Brazil and bound for Iraq, the Tartus Agriculture Directorate said Sunday.

The directorate said the calves arrived through the Port of Tartus, where veterinary procedures and health checks were carried out to ensure the animals were free of disease and met approved standards before continuing overland to Iraq.

The announcement comes days after Iraq’s Agriculture Ministry suspended a shipment of 1,750 head of cattle imported for slaughter through the Trebil crossing with Jordan after veterinary authorities found the animals infected with foot-and-mouth disease.

The disease is a severe and highly contagious viral illness that primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, though it does not spread to humans through meat or dairy products. In late May, the ministry temporarily suspended livestock transit from Syria toward Iraq and Gulf countries following reports of foot-and-mouth outbreaks in several Syrian governorates.