African horse sickness detected near Clanwilliam as Western Cape tightens controls

African horse sickness virus serotype 7 was confirmed in a mule at Perdekraal, near Clanwilliam, on October 27, 2026. The case is within the province’s protection zone, about 97 km from the surveillance zone and 198 km from the international export-linked free zone. Authorities have prohibited equids from leaving the affected area and are conducting trace-back investigations and a census of equine properties and movements. Provincial Agriculture Minister Ivan Meyer said there is no evidence the disease has spread to the surveillance or free zones.