27.30 lakh cattle vaccinated against FMD in J&K

As many as 27.30 lakh milk producing cattle have been vaccinated against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) which has adversely affected milk production in Jammu and Kashmir.

These cattle have also been linked with Aadhaar number of their owners and accordingly, they have been tagged with Unique Identification Number with which the authorities will be able to know about the breed of the cattle, their owners, and specific area they belong to.

   

With this exercise, the authorities would also be able to stop cattle smuggling or theft. “As on date, we have vaccinated 27.30 lakh cattle in J&K-17.04 lakh in Jammu Region and 10.26 lakhs cattle in Kashmir Region, under I-phase of Government of India’s nationwide sponsored National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP),” said Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Live-Stock Development Board, Jammu, Dr Daljeet Singh Bindra.

Bindra said that “With Unique Identification, we will be able to know about every detail of the tagged cattle. These details are uploaded on the Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH) portal.”

He said that “We have to cover 20 lakh population of cattle including Cow and Buffalos in Jammu Region. The population of cattle in J&K is 31.45 lakh as per the last census. However, the department has vaccinated 27.30 lakhs cattle.”

“The FMD affects the milk producing cattle i.e., cow and buffalos more and is more severe in cross-breed cattle,” said Dr Bindra. “India loses around Rs 12000 crore annually due to the disease.” He said the vaccination should be done after every six month every year and it is mostly done among the cattle of over 4 month of age.

In the second phase, he said “we have to vaccinate sheep and goats which has a population of 31.11 lakh in Jammu Region and 15 lakh in Kashmir Region.” He said that the second phase of vaccination will start in the month of March – April. “The vaccination is free with an aim to fully eradicate the disease by 2030,” he said .

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