Dozens of wild peacocks have died, feared to be a result of an outbreak of the highly contagious Newcastle disease.
Officials on Monday confirmed the deaths of at least 60 peacocks in Thar desert, part of southern Sindh province, over the last week. Local media reports said more than 100 of the exotic birds have died.
The Wildlife Ministry said that tests were being conducted to diagnose the cause of death, but the peacocks had been weakened by starvation, deforestation and a lack of safe drinking water blamed on delays to the annual monsoon rains. “Wild peacocks have become susceptible to bacterial and fungal attack, which further suppressed the immunity of the birds that paved the room for viral attack,” the ministry said.
Experts are alarmed by the number of deaths, suspecting they may have been afflicted with Newcastle disease, known locally as “rani khet”. Lajpat Sharma, an official in the provincial wildlife ministry, said they are vaccinating wild peacocks protectively for suspected viral disease, as in 2003 when a few peacocks died from the same symptoms that later proved to be “rani khet,” Tahir Qureshi of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also told AFP that he suspected “rani khet” was to be blamed for the deaths.
Newcastle disease is a worldwide problem among birds and sporadic outbreaks can occur frequently. Affected birds suffer from loss of appetite, coughing, sneezing, diarrhea, and in severe outbreaks a high proportion die. The wildlife ministry said it was supplying fresh water to peacocks in affected areas. Sharma also mentioned that there are at least 30,000 wild peacocks in the Thar desert, but Qureshi said the numbers were declining, because of poaching and lack of effective conservation.
Very sad
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Pakistani Nation also facing RANI KHET
Very sad
SIR i have to share a news with the people who love nature!!!Current conservator of Wildlife sindh is deputy conservator of wildlife sindh means he is the 18 grade officer holding the post of 19 grade why??????when a senior officer is present just because he is honest and he was handling this department with proper way and without corruption so he was removed from the post???he was the only officer who gives money to this department in winter season means this department was earning money??but after removing that officer wildlife has not recoverd even !0 %!!!!my advice is that …that OFFIcER MR HUSSAIN BUX BHAAGAT should be posted at this post !!!!in his period when ibex was attacked by virus then he remove that virus in 5 days by the help of docters who came from usa!!!because he was sincere with department!!!sir plx print this if you are a pakistani!!!!
Report
SIR mr saeed akhtar baloch dont even know anything about virus or peacocks quantity in mithi or the whole desert!!!he is not even able to be a deputy SIR plx talk about this matter seriously!!!when this virus can be removed and peacocks are also asking for help then why mr essrani is not waking up!!!i thik they all wake up when no peacock remain!!!!!!plx mr essrani suspend mr saeed akhtar baloch and give that post to MR bhaagat!!i promz u mr essrani sahib that mr bhaagat will handle this matter !!!!!!
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