RAWALPINDI, March 12: As many as eight buffaloes died of a contagious disease in the city during the last two days and the cattle pen owners disposed of the carcasses without taking precautionary measures.

The cattle pen owners (Gowalas) from Gowalmandi, Marrir Hasan, Tipu Road and adjoining areas on Tuesday reported to District Coordination Officer (DCO) Saqib Zafar about unavailability of staff to vaccinate the cattle against the hemorrhagicsepticemia commonly called ‘Galkot’ disease.

The DCO sent livestock vaccinators to the localities who vaccinated over 1,000 buffaloes.

Waseem Khan, the president of the Gowala welfare association, told Dawn that the disease spread in the buffaloes as the livestock department had failed to vaccinate them in the winter.

“During the last two days, more than eight buffaloes died in the city areas due to the disease. The buffaloes died a few hours after contracting the disease. Their throats swelled and they suffered breathing problem. We call this ‘Galkot’ and it is a viral disease,” he said.

When asked why they did not go for the veterinary doctor and waited for the livestock department officials for vaccination, he said the provincial government closed the veterinary hospital at Committee Chowk and shifted it to Sihala. “It is difficult to take the cattle there,” he added.

He said it was the duty of the livestock department to provide vaccines to the cattle pen owners.

When asked how they disposed of the carcasses of the cattle, Khan said most of the pen owners slaughtered the animals before it died and others dumped the carcass into Leh Nullah.

To a question about the possibility of the unhygienic and disease-infected meat being consumed by the people, he said the cattle pen owners wanted to get some money from their dying animals. However, he admitted that after vaccination the milk of the animal should not be used for a few days.

When contacted, District Officer Livestock Dr Mohammad Mazhar said three teams had been sent to different areas after the report of the death of the buffaloes. He said the teams vaccinated the animals till the evening.

“The teams did not see the carcasses of the buffaloes as they had already been disposed them of. So it is difficult to say anything about the exact nature of the disease. However, the symptoms indicated that the animals were suffering from hemorrhagic septicemia,” he said.

When asked about the method to dispose of the viral infectious animal, he said burning and burial was the best one.

“The meat of such animals should not be consumed,” he said.