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KARACHI, Nov 28: Forty samples of the blood and faeces of infected animals and two samples of their feed have been sent to the Central Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories, Tando Jam, and the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to determine the cause of the large-scale deaths of buffaloes in Cattle Colony over the last few of days.
The reports of blood samples will be available within three days while that of the feed will be released in 10 to 14 days.
According to the latest data compiled by Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, in charge of the government veterinary hospital in Landhi, about 396 animals have died after consuming poisonous feed, 120 have recovered while 1,279 animals are still under treatment. A total of 11 cattle pens have been affected.
The caretaker Sindh Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Mansab Ali Jakhrani, meanwhile, ordered an investigation into the deaths of hundreds of animals and sought a report within the next four days. The directive came following his visit to the colony on Wednesday. Accompanied by Livestock and Fisheries Director-General Ghulam Mohammad Mehar and Sindh Animal Husbandry Director Dr Ghulam Sarwar Sheikh, the caretaker minister met the affected dairy farmers in Cattle Colony.
Agreeing with a general complaint about the poor quality of feed, Mr Jakhrani promised to have a feed mill established in Cattle Colony by June 2008. He hoped that cattle farmers of the area would get standardized feed from the mill. He also asked the officials concerned to prepare a project to set up a feed testing laboratory at Cattle Colony.
When asked about the reports of slaughter of infected animals and selling of their meat, Animal Husbandry Director Dr Ghulam Sarwar Sheikh said that he had received no such information. A 12-member team of doctors had been working for three days, he said, adding that sick animals were being treated.
Ruling out any possibility of the feed containing traces of poisonous chemicals, the officer said that apparently stale bakery waste with fungus was responsible for the disaster.
“The continuous use of stale bread and bran can cause intense toxicity and result in immediate death. About three years ago the same phenomenon had caused 200 deaths and dairy farmers have been told repeatedly about the hazards involved in this feed, but they rarely listen,” he said. However, he said that one should wait for the reports from PCSIR and Tando Jam laboratories before arriving at any conclusion.
Regarding compensation to the affected dairy farmers, City Nazim Mustafa Kamal told Dawn that no decision had been taken yet. He said he was in touch with his team working under EDO Agriculture Mohen Lal at Cattle Colony, Landhi.
The All-Sindh Animal Traders Association representatives, meanwhile, have held city government officials responsible for the tragedy. They said the city government collecting tax under different heads had provided little service to people in return.
