Strict! Anticipate PMK Beef Cannot Enter Jayawijaya

Illustration of a beef seller amid the threat of FMD to livestock. (Between)

JAYAWIJAYA - The Jayawijaya Regency Government, Papua Province, has issued a strict policy to suppress nail and mouth disease (PMK).

Beef delivery activities in Jayawijaya are temporarily prohibited.

Head of the Jayawijaya Manpower, Industry and Trade Agency, Lukas Kossay, said that he would give strict sanctions if the policy was violated by farmers or traders.

"If someone intentionally enters it, we will prohibit it from being sold because it is not allowed to enter it first," he said in Wamena, Friday, June 24.

Although he did not allow the distribution of beef from outside, Lukas asked the people of Jayawijaya not to worry.

Lukas said the stock of meat owned by a number of distributors in Jayawijaya was safe. The stock of meat comes from local cattle which are ensured to be free from exposure to FMD.

Lukas said the ban was imposed because Jayawijaya did not have a Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) that could ensure the safety of food entering the area.

Furthermore, Lukas said that his party applied strict rules as well as anticipation so that livestock exposed to FMD outside Papua would not affect Jayawijaya.

"If there is beef, it will still be detained, and we are coordinating with the POM office in Jayapura," he said.