[ad_1]
New Delhi: A Parliamentary standing committee has called for a mechanism to prevent cattle deaths from lumpy skin disease (LSD), which killed over 200,00 cattle between July 2022 and July 2023.
Beside seeking standard operating procedures (SoP) to stop its spread, the panel also asked the animal husbandry department to make provisions for compensating livestock owners due to such outbreaks. It also asked the government to frame a national policy for ‘recovery and carriage process’ for the disposal of carcasses and an app or helpline for the same.
“Taking a note of the fact that the department did not have any scheme to compensate for cattle losses due to spread of disease, the committee desired that the department (animal husbandry) in coordination with state government should make the necessary provisions for compensating livestock owners who loses their cattle to lumpy skin disease or any such outbreak of other animal diseases as it would reduce their economic hardship to some extent,” panel report said.
“The numbers of cattle deaths since July 2022 to 25 July 2023 are 2,00,001 with the estimated loss of ₹30,000 loss per cattle as per National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) norms,” Union minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying Parshottam Rupala had said in a written reply to Lok Sabha in July this year. Over 115.7 million animals were also vaccinated against the LSD till July 2023, Rupala had said.
The panel is led by P.C. Gaddigoudar, a BJP member of parliament representing Bagalkot constituency in Karnataka.
Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease transmitted by blood-feeding insects such as certain species of flies and mosquitoes, or ticks. India is the world’s biggest milk producer contributing 24% of global milk production in FY22. The spread of LSD has direct impact on milk production as a significant number of cattle die due to the ailment.
The panel further asked the department to take proactive steps for getting all regulatory approvals for commercial production of ‘Lumpi-ProVacInd’ vaccine developed for controlling and containing its spread.
All eligible cattle be vaccinated as per the vaccination protocols on priority basis in order to contain LSD among the livestock, the panel said. It also highlighted that loss of cattle at such a huge scale was due to the shortage of veterinary or para veterinary staff in various LSD affected regions.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Published: 19 Dec 2023, 11:08 PM IST
[ad_2]
Source link