The SHC bench, comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, heard the case.
Rejecting the medical report by a UK-based laboratory which stated the sheep were disease free, government’s counsel Anwar Mansoor Khan said the petition should be dismissed.
The case hearing was adjourned till October 18.
Healthy sheep
UK-based laboratory, the Pirbright Institute, had certified that the Australian sheep are fit for human consumption.
Blood samples, drawn from 102 random sheep were tested at the laboratory, known for conducting research on infectious diseases amongst farm animals, after the Sindh High Court (SHC) had ordered an immediate halt to the culling of the imported stock and constituted an independent committee to ascertain the truth behind allegations of disease amongst the imported animals.
“The samples have tested negative for the presence of antibodies to bluetongue, PPR Virus and FMD virus,” Dr Jef Hammond, who serves as the Institute’s head of vesicular disease reference laboratories, wrote in his report.
COMMENTS (13)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@ishrat salim:
I seem to have offended your conspiracy theory mindset. I don't think I'm the one who needs to 'grow up'.
@Mirza:
Such absurd reply was expected from you Mr Mirza....let your kids eat the meat of such diseased animals first .Are our poor people not human ? poor people in pakistan are too poor to afford any kind of meat....give them free but not of diseased animals....have a heart....
Apart from the facts that are buried with some of the sheep, they should not be killed and thrown away. If there is a choice between killing/throwing them away and giving meat free of cost to poor people or organizations like Edhi, I would give it to starving people. No matter what the test results of the labs, the meat is good for human consumption. In addition the way we cook the meat at high temp and for long time (well done) there cannot be any health threat. During everyday slaughter of animals in Pakistan there are many sick animals are included and sold each day without any major outbreak.
If the Sheep are diseased at all, then why would one pay for such diseased animals at all....our local govt suddenly become so concerned about their citizen`s health...since when ? let the Sindh govt pay the Salaries of municipal workers who have refused to work during Eid holidays & the resulting filth of animals will be more dangerous than these Sheep, bcz these Sheep are meant for the rich / the elite etc; & the govt is trying to save them, not the poor people who cannot afford meat under present financial conditions.....let us face the truth...how long are we going to live in a state of denial, which has brought this country into the present mess.
@Jordan: that what this report says but was it done actually ? Oh ! I envy your knowledge about corruption in Pakistan.If the importer in collusion with the authorities send samples of blood etc; of healthy Sheep, then you have negative result, will it not be ? & by the way, was sample of blood collected by the UK lab personal in Karachi by their own UK representatives ? NO...it was sent to them, so what do you expect ? grow up....
@Liberal:
If they were healthy why the Bahraini authorities refused it & same consignment diverted to Karachi ?
At the cost of killing people...oh ! forgot, daily killing is already taking place in Karachi, what difference will it make ?
@ishrat salim:
How did you get selective samples from that? It clearly states random samples....
Australia should be paying the cost... why we?
This is another scam in the scam. Sindh Government buys sheep at nominal rates allegedly destined for culling. Sindh government officials show the sheep as being culled in a report whereas actually the sheep have been sold on to middle at market rates. This is what is going to happen.
why aren't these sheep sent to Bahrain where they were originally supposed to go? if Bahrainis are ok with them, they should not have been in Pakistan.
These sheep are healthy and their culling is a conspiracy against the liberal coalition of PPP, MQM, and ANP. Everyone has the right to do business and making money.
If selective samples from disease free Sheep is sent for testing...what result is expected ? this is Pakistan....those guys from UK lab should have come themselves,seen the sheep & collected the samples by themselves, then see the result.