Fog fever continues to endanger cattle

Lack of data, ineffective treatment at the government level has aggravated the pitfalls of the seasonal illness

LAHORE:

As temperatures continue to drop across areas in central Punjab, the cold and foggy weather has yet again spiraled into another seasonal fog fever epidemic however, this time around, soaring inflation coupled with ineffective prevention strategies and inadequate documenting of cases, will exaggerate the likelihood of infected meat being sold in markets.

Even though a large number of cattle and calves fall prey to the fog fever every year in Punjab, no serious prevention or treatment plan has been devised to educate and help farmers in keeping their livestock healthy and forestalling the loss of millions of rupees in case of the animals’ death.

Rana Mubashir Hasan, a cattle breeder from Lahore owns one cow and four calves, who are examined by a privately hired veterinary doctor. “It is a pity that the staff of government veterinary hospitals do not cooperate with us when we take our sick animals to them. Instead of properly treating the cattle, they casually scribble down laymen measures for precaution and are quick to demand a payment for every little checkup,” said Hasan, who further revealed that even though his animals had luckily survived the epidemic, several cows and buffalo calves belonging to other farmers in his locality had succumbed to the disease.

According to veterinary experts like Dr Jasar Aftab, owing to the inclement sunlight is unable to reach the green fodder of farm animals, as a result of which particles of toxic chemicals including dust accumulate on the feed, rendering it poisonous. “When this fodder is given to cattle during the winter, it can lead to their immediate death. Therefore, farmers must be advised on the importance of always giving dry feed and fresh water to their animals in the cold weather,” directed Dr Aftab.

Concurring with Dr Aftab on the importance of educating farmers, Amir Hayat Bhandara, a progressive farm officer was of the opinion that farmers in Pakistan were not aware of the steps that were needed for preventing the disease and no reporting system was in place to document the number of affected animals. “For any farmer, his livestock is his most valuable asset, which he can sell whenever he needs instant cash. Therefore, a farmer will try his very best to safeguard this asset,” he added.

Bhandara’s emphasis on farmers’ inclination towards protecting their wealth invested in their livestock is confirmed by sources from the Punjab Food Authority (PFA), which claim that a large number of sick animals are brought by farmers to private slaughterhouses, from where their meat is distributed to various sellers. “Up to 18,000 kilograms of substandard, infected meat was found last year,” said an official from PFA.

As per the revelations made by a focal person of the Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company (PAMCO), even though the Shahpur Kanjran Slaughter House has a testing facility for screening out animals with various diseases including fog fever, the majority of private slaughterhouses across the province have no such arrangement in place.

“A physical examination is mandatory for checking the animal’s fever, age and health before slaughtering. In this process, it is also important to check that a pregnant or lactating female animal is not slaughtered. A sick or infected animal has wounds on its liver or changes in its color, in which case all the meat of the animal must be destroyed. However, we are unaware of the state of affairs at private slaughterhouses,” confirmed the official.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th 2024.