Young Farmer From Kerala Looses 13 Cows Due to Poisoning (image-pixabay)
A 15-year-old farmer Mathew Benny lost at least 13 cows due to Hydrochloric acid poisoning in a village called Velliyamattom near Thodupuzha in the state of Kerala. It is suspected to be poisoned through their feed. The incident occurred around 8:30 pm on Sunday.
Being distressed by the incident, Mathew collapsed and was later hospitalized. Learning about the tragedy, animal husbandry minister J Chinchurani’s office intervened. The Animal Husbandry department (AHD) was able to rescue nine cattles, including calves but 13 died, reports Manorama online.
The officials have said that the minister consoled Mathew over phone and has planned to visit his farm on Tuesday. From the preliminary reports, the officials assume that the cattle might be affected by a poisonous substance in the tapioca leaves which was used as feed. Mathew who has taken over the farm at the age of 13 after his father’s demise relied upon tapioca leaves as it was a more economical alternative to conventional feed. The losses incurred by the young boy is estimated to be around Rs 6 lakh, reports Times of India.
One of the official from AHD said after failing to rescue the entire herd, “Though we tried our best, the cyanide that affects the red blood corpuscles had by then done the damage by stopping supply of oxygen to vital organs. One after another, the cattle started to die”.
According to the AHD official, dairy farmers are advised not to feed the cattle dried tapioca hull. But some opt to feed them in very small quantities to cattle of naïve breeds which have high resistance. “Though the toxicity of the hull is expected to be reduced after drying, it not advised as a feed,” he added.
