The shipment of sheep arrived in Pakistan almost a month ago after being turned away by Bahrain, and livestock officials ordered them to be culled after they tested positive for salmonella and actinomyces bacteria.
But after an appeal by importer PK Meat and Food Company, the Sindh High Court rejected the test results and ordered fresh samples to be taken and sent to Britain for analysis.
Earlier, an independent enquiry committee constituted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to look into the import of purportedly diseased Australian sheep had found that the rules laid down under the Pakistan Animal Quarantine Act, 1979 were violated while clearing the consignment during the first week of September.
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The US trade officials have been saying since long that Pakistan needs to upgrade its sanitary and phyto-sanitary regime to facilitate import of animals and meats.
Now who is responsible for the loss of the merchant?
Sheep with Salmonella & Actinomycetes may not be life threatening in the immediate term, but the report proves sheep contain such diseases. Actinomycosis is a potentially disfiguring disease. Why allow such stock for human consumption?
Now people expect some answers - Why Bahrain first rejected these flock, how our Lab tests result positive and the British tests negative. Who will compensate the loss for culling after wrong diagnosis. To eat or not to eat?
i expected this and i reject this. Pakistani people are treated as second class humans. i will not consume this low quality and rejected meat bought cheaper by greedy businessman. Pakistani nation is suffering inferiority complex. You dont trust your own labatory and you get second report from British labatory.shame