Meat, milk crisis looms as animals with lumpy skin disease banned

Traders asked to stop buying animals infected with LSD from Sindh and south Punjab

RAWALPINDI:

Milk and meat crisis has loomed large in the Rawalpindi division after the livestock has asked traders to stop buying animals infected with lumpy skin disease from Sindh and south Punjab.

The lumpy skin disease, the most dangerous viral disease that leads to a halt in breeding and death of animals, has created a virtual crisis of milk and meat in the Rawalpindi division as officials concerned feared the already infected animals in the two provinces if brought to the local market, could also infect them.

The livestock department is struggling to meet the growing demand for milk and meat in the Rawalpindi division after the short supply of animals from Sindh and other districts of Punjab.

The livestock department has banned the entry of the infected animals to protect the local livestock from catching the disease which is spread by mosquitoes, flies and ticks.

The livestock department has started an awareness campaign in the Rawalpindi division under the “Kisan Livestock Beithak”.

Officials said that animals infected with lumpy skin disease become weak and lose a lot of weight and animals become a skeleton, which causes the animal to die.

Read Mortality rate from lumpy skin disease 1-5%, NA body told

In the Rawalpindi division, the need for milk and meat is met locally by bringing animals from South Punjab and Sindh.

 Rawalpindi Livestock Department Additional Director Dr Naveeda Sahar Zaidi said that so far no animal has been diagnosed with lumpy skin disease in the Rawalpindi division. She said that an awareness campaign has been launched across Punjab to sensitise farmers and traders about the disease.

She said that under the awareness drive, livestock keepers were being informed to take precautionary measures to save their animals from being infected by the disease and caution should be exercised in purchasing animals.

Dr Zaidi said that farmers are asked to keep their animals away from the animals brought from South Punjab and Sindh.

She said that the livestock department has been provided with vaccines to inoculate animals against lumpy skin disease. “SOPs are being put in place and vaccination of animals will be started soon,” she said.

On the other hand, Haji Tariq Hussain, a businessman who sells and buys animals, said that he has stopped buying animals from South Punjab since he came to know about this most dangerous disease of animals.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2022.