Tests confirm cold spell caused animal deaths
Medical tests confirmed that animals in Cebu City’s upland barangays do not have any animal disease, except for a lone animal in Cantipla which had a bacterial infection.
The animals were slaughtered by their owners when they became weak because of the extreme cold, the city veterinarian reported, but blood samples showed no trace of any illness.
Around Cebu province, the cold spell has already brought some P25 million worth of damage to crops and livestock.
Skin scraping and blood tests done on affected animals in Cebu City yielded negative results of any disease, Cebu City Veterinarian Pilar Romero told Cebu Daily News.
Samples were taken from affected livestock in barangays Adlaon, Lusaran, Tabunan, Sudlon I, Sudlon II, Cantipla, Taptap and Pung-ol Sibugay.
Tests on the samples were conducted in a laboratory of the Department of Agriculture (DA). Results released by the DA last night showed the animals died because of the cold and not from disease.
Romero said skin lesions on the cows were caused by the extreme cold weather while the blood tests showed no disease on the animals.
A joint team by the city’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) and the DA 7 visited some of the affected upland barangays in the city.
BUTCHERED
Dr. Ma. Antonia Zamora, DVMF animal health division chief, said that so far in their visits to eight barangays, owners who noticed that their cows were greatly weakened decided to slaughter the animals immediately.
A cow in barangay Gaas, Balamban takes shelter from the cold weather in the barangay market. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)
“No cow actually died from the cold, except for two cases wherein the animals were around three months old and could not really withstand the cold weather,” Romero told CDN.
The team will continue surveying all of the city’s 31 mountain barangays to gather more samples and to give supplements and vitamins to the animals.
Romero said with the findings that there were no diseases in the cows, the situation is “not alarming.” Owners who slaughtered their cows didn’t observe anything different with the meat and even ate these.
“Although it really has to be inspected first, we understand that the farmers there don’t have the chance to have their meat inspected all the time. They are also aware if there is something suspicious with the meat and they said there were none,” she said.
The farmers, however, avoided cooking and eating internal organs.
City Agriculturist Joselito Baclayon advised farmers to put up makeshift shelters for their animals to protect them from the cold.
“Farmers are advised to keep the animals confined inside barns or shelters, put up protection walls of buli palm leaves around the barn to keep the animals warm inside,” Baclayon said in a text message to CDN.
One ailing cow in barangay Cantipla was positive of bacteria.
Livestock Program Coordinator Joel Elumba said the blood sample was of a cow that was already weak a week ago. Results showed the cow had pseudomonas bacteria, a type of bacteria that attacks livestock with weak immune systems during cold weather.
Elumba said that this kind of bacteria weakens the livestock and eventually causes death and the only way to combat this is by injecting antibiotics.
The DA distributed antibiotics to affected areas. The agency was not able to obtain blood samples of cows and other livestock that died.
As of January 28, a total 48 farm animals have died in six barangays in Balamban town, 35 of which were cows, two carabaos, two horses, and nine goats from barangays Gaas, Sunog, Kabasyangan, Nangka, Hingatmonan, and Kansamuroy.
AGRI DAMAGE
In Danao City, damage was reported in nine hectares of agricultural land with an estimated P710,000 worth of crops destroyed. Balamban estimated P2.9 million worth of crops damaged in 30 hectares of agricultural land. Cebu City also noted P2 million worth of damaged crops in 350 hectares of land in 15 mountain barangays.
Provincial Agriculture Officer Roldan Saragena said yesterday, “The cold weather disrupts the plants’ metabolism. It keeps them from making their food since plants need the sun for photosynthesis.” Saragena said that Cebu City is the most affected area with damage to 354 hectares of agricultural land in 15 upland barangays, amounting to a total loss of P22,243,500.
The Agriculture Office has sought clearance to purchase seeds and organic fertilizers worth P100,000 to be distributed to farmers in affected areas.
“Gradually, the cold will subside, and I am hoping this will give the farmers enough time to prepare their land and plant the seeds that we will be giving,” said Saragena.
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