Responsible people to be taken to task

With the off loading of 21,000 infected sheep for meat purpose that could have played havoc, the Sindh government has decided to register criminal cases against the officials of animal quarantine department involved and the importer of sheep for risking the human lives, Pakistan Today has learnt.0 More than 75,000 sheep were departed from Australia on board the Fremantle-based Wellard Rural Exports ship Ocean Drover. Their destination was countries in the Middle East. Some 53,000 sheep were offloaded in Qatar and Oman, while the remaining 22,000 were to be offloaded at Bahrain port, however, when the Ocean Drover arrived in Bahrain on August 29, it was asked to leave its berth until the matters were resolved.
After the Fremantle-based Wellard Rural Exports ship Ocean Drover hit the Port Qasim shores, the infected sheep were immediately offloaded and kept at a private farm at Razzakabad. The Sindh Poultry Vaccine Centre’s tests found presence of salmonella and actinomyces bacteria in 100 per cent samples from the Merino sheep.
Of the samples, 44 per cent tested were positive for E coli. The oral swabs were found positive for highly contagious actinomyces which is responsible for causing lumpy jaw disease in sheep. E coli and salmonella bacteria may cause food poisoning and dysentery in humans if meat of infected animals is consumed.
In a bid to take those involved to task, the Sindh livestock and fisheries department is preparing a complete status of offloading and importing of the sheep, their expected disaster on human lives and health of people after which the report would be forwarded to inspector general of police and multiple FIRs would be lodged for putting human lives at high risk against the officials of animal quarantine department involved and the importer.