Revamping standards: Rescue service for animals in the offing

Service to comprise 4,580 motorcycles and 540 vehicles.

LAHORE:

The Livestock and Dairy Development Department is set to launch a rescue service for farm animals, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Secretary Nadeem Sadiq said the service would be akin to a Rescue 1122 service for livestock. He said special squads comprising 4,580 motorcycles would be established for this purpose. Sadiq said the squads would be established at the town-level. He said all the motorcycles would be equipped with a medical kit containing medicines for common diseases afflicting livestock in the Punjab. Sadiq said each motorcyclist would have to cover five to six villages.

He said owners of livestock would be able to contact the service in case of any emergency. Sadiq said the 4,580 motorcycle and 540 car-strong service would strive to effectively respond to the situation at hand. He said only women and senior veterinary officials would use cars. Sadiq said men veterinary officers, artificial insemination officials and helpers would use motorcycles to discharge their duties.

The secretary said rescue officials would operate from 540 former tax collection points and 913 civil veterinary dispensaries located at thoroughfares across the province. Sadiq said a Rs2,000 allowance would be given to the motorcycle-riding officials per month. He said a tender regarding the procurement of motorcycles would be floated soon.



Sadiq told The Express Tribune that the department had been trying to harness the potential of virtual governance and information technology to improve health and safety standards in the sector. “This is the first practical step taken to improve milk and meat production across the province without spending a single penny,” he said. Sadiq said the challenges confronting the sector could be overcome by effectively implementing time-honoured techniques. He said this could virtually double milk and meat production and curb livestock fatalities. Sadiq said there was no need for the assistance of foreign experts in this regard.

He said rescue officials would also be given the duty of castrating animals being reared for slaughter. Sadiq said this increased the weight of animals by 25 per cent. He said they would also be responsible for deworming and removing ticks from livestock. Sadiq said this would increase milk production by 23 per cent and double animals’ ability to procreate.

The secretary said the progress made in the sector in the past five decades would pale in comparison to the development that it was set to witness in the next two years due to the government’s initiatives. Sadiq said the department had already reached out to 26,000 lumberdars and 20,000 maulvis to remain cognisant of livestock health standards in villages across the province. He said data cards had already been provided to department officials to enable them to collate information regarding animals in their jurisdictions. Sadiq said the data would be computerised in the next phase.

He said the department would implement a carrot-and-stick policy to reward performance and punish laxity. Sadiq said department officials were currently vaccinating livestock in their jurisdictions. He said the process had been completed in eight districts and was underway in seven others. Sadiq said the vaccination drive would be completed province-wide by next month. He said a drive to vaccinate camels would commence in March.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2015.