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Police assistance sought to prevent foot-and-mouth spreading to main dairy areas
Police assistance has been sought to prevent the transportation of cattle and other farm animals infected with the foot- and-mouth disease to the main milk producing districts – Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Kegalle, a senior Police officer said.
Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police DIG Gamini Navaratne who has been entrusted with the implementation of border control of the three districts told the Sunday Times that policemen will intensify their checks with the upcoming religious festivals which may see an increase in the freeing of cattle from slaughterhouses.
The disease has been detected in pockets in Kurunegala, Kalutara, Baddegama and Moneragala areas already.
He said it would be difficult to halt or check all transportation of animals.
The police will concentrate on securing the borders of the main milk producing districts to ensure that the infection does not spread to the large scale dairy farms.
Although foot-and-mouth disease is not life threatening the milk production of the affected animal will be reduced by 1/4. The outbreaks come in the wake of the heightened efforts of the Government to develop dairy production and achieve self-sufficiency within a few years.
Dr. Kumara De Silva, Director General of the Animal Production and Health Department, met with Police Chief N.K.Illangakoon this week to seek the assistance of the police to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.
“The police are usually reluctant to demand documents when cattle are being transported after being released for religious purposes. However I have met the IGP and requested that regulations be strictly followed,” Dr. De Silva said.
“We will monitor the situation before taking any legal action to prohibit the transportation and sale of cattle as was done in March this year. I came under lot of criticism for doing that as some religious communities which consume a lot of meat products were affected,” said Dr. de Silva.
The second outbreak of the disease for this year was detected in the Northern, Eastern and North Central Provinces. The Animal Production and Health Department has also made it compulsory to keep any cattle released from slaughter houses, under quarantine for ten days, before being transported out.
This regulation came after investigations traced the current breakout of foot-and-mouth in the Southern areas to a cow which was released from a slaughter house in Welisara and transported to Baddegama. The cow was transported with no proper documentation but only a letter from the Buddhist monk who got the cow released. The Ministry of Livestock & Rural Community Development has already airlifted 40,000 vaccines from India and distributed them to meet the unexpected demand. Animals in the South are not vaccinated against the disease as it was not endemic in the area.
The department of Animal Production and Health will airlift another 200,000 vaccines next week from France or India to meet the current demand. The department has been producing the vaccine locally to treat the strain of virus found in Sri Lanka but the production capacity is not adequate to meet the increased demand created by the outbreak, Dr. De Silva said, explaining reason for airlifting the vaccines.
The department will also carry out public awareness campaigns to ensure that regulations and control measures put in place to contain the outbreak will be adhered to.
During the first outbreak authorities took strict measures to ban the transportation or sale of any animals or animal products in the affected districts till the disease was brought under control. However the department is reluctant to take such strong measures this time citing inconvenience to the public.