Pakistan: Import of infected Australian sheep

Pakistan's Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has directed the government of Sindh to hold inquiry into the import of large number of infected sheep at Port Qasim, Karachi and identify the persons responsible for this illegal act. The prime minister has desired that findings of the inquiry may be communicated for his consideration within seven days. Sindh government officials decided on Sunday to cull more than 21,000 imported Australian sheep and the process of killing the animals and burying them started late in the night in Razzakabad area amid tight security. The government took the decision after reports from a second laboratory also confirmed that the animals were diseased. The culling began in the presence of livestock and local government officials. "We have culled about 150 sheep so far. The step has been taken after the animals were found suffering from highly contagious diseases. Infections could spread in our environment if the animals were allowed to live," Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, representing the livestock department at the site near the private farm in Razzakabad where the animals had been kept, said. The animals, he said, were being buried in a 15-foot deep ditch after being slaughtered. Referring to the latest report submitted by the Tandojam Central Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, provincial Livestock and Fisheries Secretary Syed Abid Ali Shah said it showed that the sheep had got foot-and-mouth disease, besides having bacterial infection as had earlier been indicated in a lab report by the Sindh Poultry Vaccine Centre. "There is no option left but to cull all animals in public interest because two laboratory reports have confirmed that they are diseased. Preparations are under way for the culling that will begin soon," he said, adding that the remains would be buried deep at the same place. "That means these animals are a grave risk to public health because we don't have this virus in our environment right now, nor the lab facilities required to detect it. "The spread of new viruses is a major health hazard across the world which is why developed countries have stringent rules and regulations to protect their environment," he said.