8 Sub-Districts In Bantul Red Zone For Livestock FMD

Cowshed in the Segoroyoso Village area, Pleret District, Bantul Regency, DIY. (ANTARA/Hery Sidik)

BANTUL - The Bantul Regency Government, Special Region of Yogyakarta, stated that eight out of a total of 17 sub-districts in this area were categorized as red zones for cases of oral and nail disease (FMD) outbreaks in livestock.

"Eight red zone districts have PMK cases because the population of livestock affected or suspected of FMD based on clinical symptoms is more than 100 cases," said Head of the Bantul Agriculture and Food Security Agency, Joko Waluyo, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, June 24.

His party did not mention all the red zone districts of the PMK case, but most of them are in the eastern region of Bantul, including the Pleret, Jetis, Pundong, Banguntapan, and Imogiri sub-districts.

Therefore, he said, the handling and treatment of livestock affected by FMD in the red zone area is a shared concern between the government through animal health officers and breeders, so that transmission is suppressed and the healing process is more extensive.

Joko said that the total number of cases of foot and mouth disease in livestock in Bantul has so far reached 1,894, six died, 29 were forcibly slaughtered, and 210 recovered.

"The Bantul area which is still relatively safe from PMK cases in the west is the Srandakan, Pajangan, Sedayu and Sanden sub-districts," he said.

Joko hopes that the efforts made by breeders and puskeswan officers in treating and preventing FMD from spreading will continue to be carried out, so as not to have an impact on the implementation of Eid al-Adha 1443 Hijriah, which requires healthy livestock for sacrificial animals.

"There are clear concerns about the need for Eid al-Adha, but what is clear is that we will be more intensive in monitoring closer to the holiday, so as not to let sick cows be used as sacrificial animals. This is not easy for friends in the field," he said.

He said that the need for sacrificial animals in Bantul every Eid al-Adha is around 7,000 cows. To meet these needs, Bantul needs to bring in livestock from outside the region.

"We don't just rely on Bantul, but also from outside, and hopefully it's safe. We hope that the number of cases in Bantul will not increase, while livestock from outside are healthy," said Joko.