JEDDAH, 4 September 2007 — About 200 more animals including camels, cows and goats have died of a mysterious disease during the last week. The death toll now stands at more than 3,000.
Agriculture Minister Dr. Fahd Balghunaim has, however, ruled out claims that the deaths were caused by infectious disease. He said a special panel was making a field assessment of the situation.
The minister added that owners of the dead animals would be paid compensation upon instructions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
He said the ministry had called for an emergency meeting of concerned officials including those of the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flourmills (GOGSF) next week; the meeting will study the reasons for the deaths of camels and other animals in different parts of the country.
He said the toxic fodder that caused the death of camels was not produced by GOGSF, which is an affiliate of the ministry. He said a committee comprising officials from the ministries of interior, agriculture and finance was investigating the source of the fodder that caused the deaths.
Balghunaim estimated the total number of dead camels at about 2,500. “The disease is not an epidemic. According to information we have, the deaths were caused by eating contaminated bran,” he said.
The minister added that the mode of compensation to the farmers would be announced next week. “Owners of the dead camels need not worry. Their rights will be protected,” he pointed out.
As many as 150 heads of sheep, three camels and a number of cows have died in Makkah as a result of the disease, press reports said quoting Mohammed Al-Abdali, owner of the animals. “I had the sheep vaccinated but it was of no use,” he said.
Seven more camels died in a farm south of Riyadh this week.
The Ministry of Agriculture said the total number of camels died as a result of eating toxic fodder reached 2,563 on Saturday, registering a 29 percent increase on figures published last week. In Madinah, 18 cows were killed after they were found to have lung tuberculosis.
“A team of veterinary doctors are inspecting the dead camels to find out the type of toxic chemicals that caused the deaths,” said Dr. Muhammad Al-Shaiha, assistant deputy minister for animal resources.
“We have found two camels having similar symptoms after they were fed bran suspected to be containing toxic materials. This once again confirms that the camels died of eating contaminated fodder and not from any contagious disease,” he said.
Shaiha said the Kingdom would not allow the import of live animals from countries hit by contagious diseases such as foot and mouth.
The Ministry of Agriculture has sent frozen samples of dead camels to France to try to discover the exact reason for the deaths.
According to figures reported in the Saudi press, at least 5,000 camels have now died and thousands more are sick. The Kingdom’s camel population is estimated at 850,000. Camel breeding in the Kingdom is undertaken for various purposes: racing, milk, and beauty contests.
