Authorities in South Sudan’s Aweil state have enforced an order banning the sale and use of plastic bags, threatening to punish those in defiance.

Last year the state council of ministers issued the order after nearly 4,000 livestock especially cattle died from ingesting plastic bags. However, the order has been largely dishonoured.

The state director-general in the ministry of agriculture Samuel Ajiing Uguak told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that the use and sale of all plastic bags are prohibited and anyone found guilty will be prosecuted. He said the plastic bags have a negative effect not only on the environment but on the domestic animals as well.

“We banned it completely. The big problem is that traders are still selling and using them illegally. We have outlined regulations that will protect the domestic and wildlife species,” he said.

Ajiing said according to records about 4,000 livestock died in 2018 from the direct effects of plastic bags, adding that the statistics for 2019 will be released in December.

He further noted that a huge number of livestock are unhealthy and unproductive.