Black Quarter disease: Hundreds of cattle die

Farmers from Khairpur Tamewali, Budhwala Toba, Kokar Toba, Sathoowala Toba and Sher Khan Toba say they have lost hundreds of animals to the disease which they blame on the “negligence of the Cholistan Development Authority’s Livestock Wing”. “We informed the department about the outbreak but no veterinary teams have come to visit our farms so far. If they don’t take action we would end up losing thousands of cows and buffaloes,” a farmer told The Express Tribune.

Farmers Athar Wagi and Maratab Shah said their cattle had not been vaccinated for two years.

“Veterinary teams have not visited any farms in our area … we have lost hundreds of lambs, goats, buffaloes and camels to epidemics in the last two years,” said Wagi.

The recent epidemic of Black Quarter disease causes massive water retention in cattle.

This causes the animal’s flesh to become tender and eventually cripples it. In a few days the animal dies, he said.

“We have suffered losses running into millions of rupees and the government has still not taken any action to help us,” said Shah.

Shah said government releases millions of rupees for research and vaccinations to prevent and cure livestock diseases in Cholistan. “Some people in the livestock wing have been using the funds for other purposes instead of spending it on curing animals, Shah alleged.

Livestock Deputy Director Dr Sohail Nasir said the disease had spread because the animals were not vaccinated on time.

“The Veterinary Research Institute supplied us vaccines for livestock in October last year, but they caused adverse reactions among the animals they were tested on so we had to return them,” he said. The institute has still not supplied a fresh batch of vaccines, Nasir added.

Nasir said such outbreaks usually occurred after rainy weather.

“If the Veterinary Research Institute does not provide us with the vaccines we will lose more animals to the Black Quarter disease,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2013.