YANBU, 9 December 2007 — Over 20 camels have died in Yanbu recently after eating contaminated fodder, said livestock owners. They complained that the Ministry of Agriculture has failed to deploy vets to deal with the problem.
“Five of my camels died after eating fodder I purchased last Sunday from the Yanbu fodder market. The fodder was sold at a comparatively low price,” said Nayer Al-Refaie, a livestock owner.
He added that 20 of his camels were fed with the contaminated fodder and that after their health worsened, he began feeding them other stuff. “However, it didn’t make a difference. The camels’ health worsened,” he said.
“So I went to the Ministry of Agriculture and tried to get a vet to check on my herd. However, I was told that there was no veterinary doctor,” he added.
Al-Refaie said he went to the Governor’s Office and met an official, who telephoned the Ministry of Agriculture to arrange a vet. “The man told him that the doctor was in a village far away from Yanbu and was checking on a bird flu report. I don’t know what to do, my camels are dying and I don’t know why,” he said.
A Ministry of Agriculture source told Arab News that there simply are not enough vets in the Yanbu region. “We’re in need of at least 10 doctors because the province is quite vast. Also, livestock owners need to be careful. They’re buying cheap fodder and poisoning their own animals,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Commerce is responsible for checking on the quality of fodder sold at markets, not the Ministry of Agriculture.
