Goats, sheep hit by foot and mouth disease in Kangra

Rajiv Mahajan

NURPUR, NOVEMBER 18

The outbreak of the dreaded foot and mouth disease, locally known as ‘khredu’ in the sheep and goats coming to lower Kangra from tribal Chamba district, is affecting the financial condition of shepherds.

Over 1,000 shepherds are harried a lot as most of their sheep and goats have got infected with the transmitted disease. A large number of animals have been killed. The state Wool Federation is yet to rescue the hapless shepherds.

The migratory shepherds, who have arrived the lower Kangra areas from Bharmour in Chamba district, lamented that neither the federation, nor the Veterinary Department authorities had taken any steps.

“After infecting with the disease, some animals had high fever before dying,” they said. The shepherds are in panic after losing their livestock and seek immediate treatment of their ailing animals and vaccination to their livestock as these are their source of livelihood. Panic has also gripped the villages where they are keeping their livestock for grazing as the disease is being transmitted to their livestock too.

Meanwhile, Kangra district Congress president Ajay Mahajan has asked the state government to immediately declared this disease as veterinary epidemic and give compensation to those who had lost their livestock. Mandan Bharmouri, state general secretary of the Tribal Congress Cell, has alleged that the federation is a silent spectator.