The detection and diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in food-producing animals is critical to human health. In this study we applied the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) system to detect <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em> complex (MTC) directly in 57 cattle and six lechwe (<em>Kobus leche kafuensis</em>) carcasses exhibiting lesions characteristic of TB. The samples were first subjected to Ziehl-Neelsen microscopy, followed by culture and LAMP assay. In addition, multiplex-PCR was used to determine the species involved. Of the samples from the cattle, 84.2% (95% confidence interval: 71.6-92.1) were found positive with Ziehl-Neelsen microscopy, 93.0% (95% confidence interval: 82.2-97.7) with culture, and 94.7% (95% confidence interval: 84.5-98.6) with the LAMP system while the<em> Kobus leche kafuensis</em> samples were all positive for all techniques used. These results indicate that the LAMP system can be used to augment the detection and surveillance of TB in animals; hence can be a very useful tool in the veterinary field and in public health.