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Ranchers.net

Contaminated Fodder Killed Camels: Govt
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH, 9 September 2007 — Toxins in animal feed rather than any contagious disease are to blame for the deaths of more than 3,000 camels, cows and goats in different parts of the Kingdom over the past two months, the Ministry of Agriculture announced yesterday.

The announcement was made after tests were conducted in laboratories both inside and outside Saudi Arabia. The tests were carried out on samples taken from dead animals, from suspicious fodder as well as on pesticides, cyanides, nitrates, urea and phenol, and radioactive materials.

“The results showed that the samples contained salinomycin, a compound to which camels are highly allergic. Laboratory tests showed that the bran used to feed camels contained this compound in high concentrations,” the ministry said.

Another toxic substance found in large quantities in the fodder was aspergillus clavatus, which is a fungus. The ministry said that the fungus usually appeared in places with high humidity as well as high temperature. The fungus affects animals’ nervous systems and the fodder got infected as a result of poor storage.

Tests also proved that the samples of bran and those taken from dead camels contained toxic aluminum in large amounts. The ministry pointed out that most insecticides available in the market contain aluminum.

The ministry has not yet identified the source of the fodder that killed hundreds of animals across the country. It said, however, that it would continue its search in order to find the source of toxins in the bran, which was used to feed the animals.

The ministry advised farmers and owners of animals to buy fodder from factories and authorized distributors and store it in suitable places in order to avoid contamination. The public is also advised not to store fodder near pesticides, to apply pesticides in a scientific manner and approach the Agriculture Ministry if guidelines are needed.

The 150-member Shoura Council is expected to discuss this week the deaths of hundreds of camels and other animals across the country.

Agriculture Minister Fahd Balghunaim said a special panel composed of officials from the ministries of Interior, Agriculture and Finance was investigating to ascertain the source of the fodder that caused the deaths. According to figures reported in the press, at least 5,000 camels have now died and thousands more are sick.

The minister said owners of the dead animals would be paid compensation on instructions from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. Some camel owners have refused to bury their dead animals as they are awaiting the arrival of panel members to register their dead animals in order to receive compensation. Citizens fear that the delay in burial might trigger an environmental catastrophe. The Kingdom’s camel population is estimated at 850,000.

Just before the camels began to die, newspapers had reported an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the Kingdom. Al-Yaum newspaper, citing an Agriculture Ministry official, said colleagues had intercepted “a cargo of 351 sheep, which were suspected of suffering from aphthous fever, imported from Iran by a breeder.

Not saying this is caused by increased radiation; the research documents that increased radiation levels will severely harm the immune system making animals more vulnerable to other diseases and toxins.

Radioactive materials concentrate in the bran of cereal grains.

No matter what you think, Tex mentioned that animals should be sick and dying in Iraq if DU were the cause of TSEs.... animals down-wind are dying.... do you think they'd test them for CSE, Camel spongiform encephalopathy?
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