CHINIOT: Several cattle heads have died mysteriously in Salaray village in the last four to five days.

Salaray is a big village on the bank of the River Chenab with a population of 20,000 people. Most of the households keep cattle and sell milk and meat. They said their cattle are dying without any symptoms of any disease.

Nawaz Salarah, a local farmer and former union council nazim, said they have been waking up to find three or four cattle dead in the morning for over a week. He claimed so far 50 animals have died. He said they have called Livestock Department officials to vaccinate the remaining cattle. Many of these animals are being milked and are the only source of earning for the farmers. He also demanded that the district administration announce some compensation for the farmers.

Deputy Commissioner Asim Javed has ordered Livestock Additional Director Ujeen Sohail to ascertain the facts and save the remaining cattle. Sohail said that livestock teams have been sent to the village to vaccinate the animals against possible diseases and that they are ascertaining the accurate figures and possible causes of death of animals.

So far, they have confirmed the deaths of 13 animals, which died due to severe cold. However, there are some hard areas along the River Chenab where teams only go on call.

He said he advised cattle owners to save their animals from chilling weather conditions and vaccinate them from the livestock teams against the possible epidemic diseases.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2022