PMK Threats Ahead Of Eid, Garut Regent: We'll Solve This Problem By Lockdown

The threat of PMK to livestock ahead of Eid al-Adha. (Between)

GARUT - The Garut Regency Government has tightened the distribution of cows coming from outside the city ahead of Eid al-Adha. The policy is to prevent the sacrificial animals from being exposed to mouth and foot disease (PMK).

"We are solving this problem by locking down, there should be no more sick cows," Garut Regent Rudy Gunawan told reporters in Garut, quoted from Antara, Monday, May 23.

He said the local government had made efforts to prevent and overcome the FMD outbreak so that it would not continue to spread to other livestock, as well as strictly inspect every cow that came from outside the region.

This step, he continued, was carried out because a month or even two months before Eid al-Adha had already arrived many cows from outside the region such as from Central Java and East Java into Garut, so the inspection was tightened.

"Usually Eid is 30 days or 60 days in advance, the cows have been sent from Java here, we want to hold a check point in Malangbong (Garut border with Tasikmalaya and Sumedang regencies)," he said.

He conveyed that the strict inspection efforts were to ensure that the sacrificial animals were in a healthy condition so that people felt safe and calm when carrying out the sacrifices by slaughtering cows.

"The sacrifice must be a healthy cow, an unhealthy cow will not be passed as a sacrificial animal, we will have a veterinarian later," he said.

He revealed, the transmission of FMD to livestock in Garut has been declared an extraordinary event with cases reaching a thousand heads. This condition is a serious concern for the regional government to take anticipatory and handling steps so that the epidemic does not spread.

The regional government, he added, had deployed an animal health team, and involved elements of the TNI and Polri to conduct security and checks in the field.

"This PMK has been declared an extraordinary event, now this extraordinary event will also be handled in an extraordinary manner, we have coordinated, the TNI/POLRI are involved," he said.