Iranian cattle heads diagnosed with FMD

The authorities recently seized a shipment of sick cattle heads that entered Bahrain from Iran, it has been confirmed.

As many as 5000 heads of cattle were diagnosed with Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and are kept in the veterinary quarantine.

Informed sources told our sister newspaper Al Ayam that officials didn’t allow the shipment to be distributed among local stockyards, containing the infectious disease. They confirmed that the shipment would be eventually terminated.

“The diseased cattle heads were imported by several livestock traders, including a Gulf national who owns a Bahraini commercial record that allows him to import cattle. The shipment was coming from Iran through the port of Khasab in Oman,” sources said.

The explained further, “International import/export procedures stipulate that all livestock should be quarantined during the process of shifting. But, Khasab port doesn’t have quarantine system and the animals are inspected by veterinarians on the vessels.”

According to the sources, “The shipment will be terminated as it was quarantined for more than a week, while the rules and regulations in Bahrain insist that they’re not kept for more than five days. In addition to that, the country currently does not have proper treatments for FMD and the process of shipping it back would be costly.”

Traders called upon the authorities not to release any livestock shipments in local markets unless their safety is confirmed.

They claimed that FMD had cost them plenty in the previous period. At the same time, they demanded to clear the quarantine division, so it could receive new shipments of livestock.

It’s noteworthy that several GCC countries have stopped receiving shipments of Iranian cattle, as FMD is widely spread there.