JEDDAH, 6 September 2007 — The 150-member Shoura Council will debate the death of more than 3,000 camels and other animals in various parts of the Kingdom, informed sources said. The Agriculture Ministry was yet to ascertain the reason for the deaths.
The Shoura debate comes amid reports about the death of more camels. The consultative body is expected to demand a clarification from the ministry for the growing deaths of camels and the measures it had taken to prevent the deaths.
The Shoura will also debate annual reports of the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flourmills (GOGSF), an affiliate of the Agriculture Ministry, the sources said.
Agriculture Minister Dr. Fahd Balghunaim has ruled out claims that the deaths were caused by infectious disease and blamed the deaths on toxic fodder. He said a special panel comprising officials from the Ministries of Interior, Agriculture and Finance was investigating the source of the fodder that caused the deaths.
A team of veterinary doctors is inspecting the dead camels to find out the type of toxic chemicals that caused the deaths. “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,” said Dr. Muhammad Al-Shaiha, assistant deputy minister for animal resources.
According to figures reported in the Saudi press, at least 5,000 camels have now died and thousands more are sick. The daily reports on the death of camels have sent shock waves among citizens and residents. Many fear the disease could spread among humans.
The demand for camel meat and milk has reduced considerably. “People have stopped coming to buy camel milk from street vendors in Yanbu Al-Nakhl for the past three weeks. They used to come for milk in the evening every day,” said Mansour Al-Yahya, one of the traders.
In Wadi Al-Dawaser, 23 camels reportedly died during the last two days. Muhammad Al-Dossary, director of the ministry’s office in the city, said he had received reports of new camel deaths in the area.
Fehaid Al-Shammary, acting director of environmental health at Wadi Al-Dawaser Municipality, said his office had culled 1,700 dead camels in the past weeks, Al-Watan reported.
Muhammad Al-Subaie, a member of the panel in Raniya, said 934 camels died in the township while 226 others fell sick.
The Department of Agriculture in Najran, meanwhile, received reports of the death of seven camels in Kharkhir, where 55 camels have fell sick after eating contaminated fodder that came from Sharourah.
Some camel owners have refused to bury their dead animals as they awaited arrival of panel members to register their dead ones in order to receive compensations. Citizens feared the delay in burial would trigger an environmental catastrophe.
