1986 Indonesia Was Declared Free Of PMK But 2022 Spreads Again, DPR To The Government: A Thorough Investigation

Veterinarians prepare to give vaccine injections to cattle with indications of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Aceh Besar in May 2022. (Antara-Ampelsa)

JAKARTA - Member of the House of Representatives Commission IX Muchamad Nabil Haroen is surprised that the mouth and nail disease (FMD) outbreak in livestock has re-emerged. Indonesia is known to have been declared free of PMK since 1986.

Nabil asked the government to investigate thoroughly and comprehensively regarding the emergence of PMK in 2022.

"It is important how the government investigates thoroughly because there are many losses caused by this FMD outbreak," he said in a written statement in Jakarta, Thursday, June 16.

The PKB politician revealed that based on data from the Ministry of Agriculture, farmer losses due to the PMK outbreak reached Rp. 9.9 trillion because it disrupted productivity and caused many livestock to die.

According to him, the investigation related to the emergence of the PMK outbreak is an absolute requirement that must be carried out by the government, so that this incident does not happen again.

"If I want to borrow the logic of a virus on a computer, it was deliberately created so that the antivirus will sell. Is this also happening in the livestock world?" asked Nabil.

According to him, although FMD is not contagious to humans, all parties must not be complacent, so that bad things do not happen so that the cooperation of all stakeholders needs to be carried out to overcome the outbreak.

Nabil also appealed to the public, especially before Eid al-Adha, to slaughter sacrificial animals in relatively safe places, for example, in slaughterhouses (RPH).

"Indeed, it doesn't feel right if for example there is a sacrificial animal and then it is not slaughtered in the mosque or in the prayer room, there is indeed a feeling of dissatisfaction. But when the epidemic season is like this, it's better to prevent it," he hoped.

According to him, if there are livestock that are infected with PMK, they must be destroyed. However, this must be balanced with the government's readiness to provide compensation for breeders whose animals have been destroyed due to FMD infection.

This step, according to him, is so that no community will be harmed in the face of the PMK outbreak, such as farmers and consumers.