Press Note on Foot-and-Mouth Disease
4th December, 2013
Thousands of cattle are dying in the States of Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra due to a suspected outbreak of the dreaded “Foot-and-Mouth” disease. The suspected viral infection has taken epidemic proportion and is likely to increase the fatalities and put the poor and marginal farmers into greater misery. In Karnataka till date over ten thousand milch cattle have died and thousands are reported to be affected. In Tamilnadu also over ten thousand cows and buffaloes have died and thousands are affected by the disease. In Kerala around thousand cows and buffaloes have died especially in the Districts of Palakkad and Kollam. Animal deaths are being reported in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra too. The concerned officials in the Animal Husbandry Department and the respective States are however in a denial mode and are underplaying the seriousness of the endemic disease by falsifying figures of the dead animals. All India Kisan Sabha demands that the farmers be compensated on an immediate basis with at least Rs.25,000/- per milk giving cow or buffalo, Rs.20,000 per oxen or bull and Rs.10,000/- per calf from the State Government side and an equivalent amount from the Central Government using the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana funds which is meant to address the specific problems of farmers in distress.
In addition to this the AIKS demands that the Central Government recognise it as a serious epidemic and coordinate with the respective State Governments to ensure vaccination on a war-footing. The veracity of claims that the virus strains are not being effectively countered by the vaccines must be verified and action taken. The more dangerous Hemorrhagic Septicimia in which the cattle dies within 2-3 days after it sets in are also being reported. Scientists from the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals are making efforts to ascertain the exact cause of the widespread prevalence of the disease and also to confirm whether the highly contagious nature is due to some more virulent strains.
Total vaccination is put forward as the only way of building immunity against the disease. However, the efficacy of the vaccine is being questioned by farmers and also there is a lack of trained personnel for administering the vaccine as recruitment in the veterinary department is not taking place. There is widespread insecurity that shortage of vaccines and absence timely dissemination will lead to wider spread of the disease. Once the disease sets in the small farmers are unable to afford the costs of the treatment. The milk productivity falls drastically and reproductive organs are adversely affected. The hybrid varieties are found to be more susceptible to the disease. AIKS demands that the posts of personnel in the veterinary department must be filled immediately to ensure vaccination is done in a fool-proof manner. Medicines required for treatment must be distributed freely to the farmers.
AIKS condemns the failure of the Central and State Governments in ensuring timely vaccination and demands immediate release of compensation and quality medicines to dairy farmers.
Sd/-
Amra Ram, President
Hannan Mollah, General Secretary
