3 weeks ago
Over 300 cattle vaccinated to protect wildlife from foot-and-mouth disease
Some very kind people in India are helping animals stay healthy near the forests.
Cows that live in villages next to the forest got special medicine shots called vaccines.
The shots protect the cows from a very contagious illness called foot-and-mouth disease.
If a cow gets this disease, it could spread to wild animals like deer and elephants.
That would make the wild animals very sick, and could even be deadly.
More than 300 cows got their shots over two days.
The medicine was given in a few small villages where cows and wild animals share the same land.
This good deed happened just before World Elephant Day on August 12, a special day for elephants.
In another village, pet dogs also got shots to protect them from a different disease, keeping wild big cats safe too.
Thanks to these helpers, the village animals and forest animals can live together more safely.
More than 300 cattle were vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in forest villages near Siliguri.
The two-day camps, organised by NGO NGP Jumbo Troops and the Kurseong forest division, were held on Sunday and Monday at Dahra, Deomuni, Central Forest Village and Bagdogra Forest Village.
Forest officials say FMD is highly contagious and can prove fatal to both domestic livestock and wild ungulates that share habitat in fringe forest villages.
The drive was held ahead of World Elephant Day on August 12, as elephants frequently move through the Bagdogra range where cattle enter forests to graze.
A separate camp in Dowhill vaccinated pet dogs against parvovirus to protect wild carnivores, with support from NGO Kurseong K9.
- Who
- NGO NGP Jumbo Troops, the Kurseong forest division, and the Naxalbari block animal resource development department, with vaccines administered by block livestock development officer S. Sarkar.
- What
- Vaccination of more than 300 cattle against foot-and-mouth disease, plus a separate parvovirus vaccination camp for pet dogs.
- Where
- Forest villages under the Bagdogra forest range near Siliguri (Dahra, Deomuni, Central Forest Village and Bagdogra Forest Village), and the Dowhill area for the dog vaccination camp.
- When
- Over Sunday and Monday, ahead of World Elephant Day on August 12.
- Why
- To prevent foot-and-mouth disease from spreading between domestic livestock and wildlife, including elephants, that share the same habitat in fringe forest villages.
Key facts
- Number of cattle vaccinated
- More than 300
- Disease targeted
- Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)
- Organisers
- NGP Jumbo Troops and Kurseong forest division
- Vaccination villages
- Dahra, Deomuni, Central Forest Village, Bagdogra Forest Village
- Area covered
- Bagdogra forest range, near Siliguri
- Occasion
- Ahead of World Elephant Day (August 12)
- Veterinary support
- Naxalbari block animal resource development department; vaccines administered by S. Sarkar
- Second camp
- Parvovirus vaccination for pet dogs in Dowhill on Sunday, with Kurseong K9
Quotes
R. Jyoti Singha Roy
Project in-charge, Jarateam (Jumbo) Troops NGO
““The forest areas in the plains of the Bagdogra range and some other parts of the forest division witness frequent elephant movements. The cattle also enter the forests for grazing. Keeping this in mind, and also to mark World Elephant Day, we have taken up the initiative to organise vaccination camps in different forest villages.””
telegraphindia.com
““FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that can affect domestic livestock as well as several wild ungulates. In fringe forest villages, where livestock and wildlife share the same habitat, transmission of the disease can prove fatal for both.””
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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