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| LIVESTOCK: A VICTIM OF COVID-19 SCARE | | |
Dr. Parveen Kumar, Dr. D. Namgyal
The COVID-19 pandemic has directly or indirectly affected almost every living organism on this earth. While directly it has caused huge loss of human lives, indirectly it has affected the agriculture sector as well as the Livestock. In agriculture sector, many operations have been delayed; the harvesting has been delayed and the procurement is also being affected.
Due to the restriction on movement and lockdown in place, the farming community finds it very tough to arrange for the feed and fodder requirements of their animals. This in turn has affected the yield of milching animals. Animal husbandry industry is segmented by type into dairy, meat, poultry, aquaculture, and others (insects). Meat and poultry are expected to get affected significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the region, the most affected regions are the US, China, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, UK, and India. The primary factors that were responsible for the sector’s growth before the pandemic were the increased consumption of meat, beef, chicken and other kinds of seafood such as prawns globally. Changing lifestyles of the peoples along with the preferences towards the luxury food items were also the prime factors for the market growth. The regional demand for chicken and meat has decreased due to the increased rate of virus spread. Further, it has also been witnessed that the peoples are opting for the jackfruit as the replacement of chicken and mutton. Whereas, the shutdowns of the food chain services including restaurants has also affected the market growth.
Till date there has been no evidence of this virus being linked to livestock; but, it is also a fact that the global animal husbandry industry has been largely impacted by the effect of corona virus. There have been various rumors amongst the peoples that the virus can spread through the animal's meat and chicken. However, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention declared that corona virus is known to be transmitted via direct contacts to humans, and not via livestock or aqua animals. Infact the livestock sector has been a victim of this pandemic scare. Few animals have been reported to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 worldwide, and most have been in animals that had close contact with a person with COVID-19. COVID-19 is Zoonotic and it appears that it can spread from people to animals in some situations. The first case of an animal testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the United States was a tiger with a respiratory illness at a zoo in New York City. Samples from this tiger were taken and tested after several lions and tigers at the zoo showed signs of respiratory illness. Public health officials believe these large cats became sick after being exposed to a zoo employee who was actively shedding virus. The subsequent shutdowns, restricted movements and stay at home reduced the delivery of feed for the livestock. Many farmers resorted to panic buying of animal feed in the anticipation of potential shortages. The worldwide consumption of fish and meat has declined drastically. Hence, the demand for grain and oilseed has reduced considerably as well. Analysts estimate about 6% decline in soybean, corn, and wheat demand for animal feed in countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines in the year 2020. Approximately 65% of net annual production of soybean, corn and wheat is consumed in animal feed industry, while the remaining 35% for food consumption. Therefore, even though the home consumption of G&O has increased, it is greatly outweighed by the reduced consumption in animal feed industry. The pandemic has also a huge impact on Indian poultry sector that has seen a drop of almost 50% also impacting feed prices, due to false virus scare.
As per an estimate, Indian poultry & feed sector have recorded an estimated loss of USD 236 million (INR 1750 crore) from mid January to mid February. The sectors have seen a huge drop due to fake propaganda on social media, saying that corona virus is spread through consumption of poultry products, which has been reported by various media outlets. The Mumbai based Compound Feed Manufacturers Association (CLFMA) has also reported that India’s feed manufacturers are also facing the heat of Covid-19, as poultry owners have started cancelling feed orders. This will have a drastic effect on the feed manufacturers. If this continues for more weeks, many feed plants will face closer and there will be layoffs, which will again hamper the economy, which is already showing signs of a slowdown. As many poultry owners produce their own feed, they have stopped sourcing raw materials like soybean, corn from the market, impacting the farmers too.
Livestock being a vital sector of rural economy thus has to be taken proper care of in this time of COVID-19 pandemic. Some preventive measures have to be taken to keep the livestock healthy and away from COVID-19 infection. The general public and the livestock owners are also as such to be made aware of the false propaganda. Such measures include:
i. Anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 is encouraged to isolate themselves from other people and animals, including pets, during their illness.
ii. Routine cleaning and disinfection is important in animal areas. Cleaning of visibly dirty surfaces followed by disinfection should be undertaken for prevention of COVID-19 and other viral respiratory illnesses.
iii. The sheds of animals should be thoroughly cleaned. Increased sanitation of surfaces frequently touched by people (e.g. light switches and door knobs) is recommended to reduce exposure to/from humans.
iv. Treat the pet animals like cats and dogs as usual, but do not let them interact with peoples or animals outside the household. Keep the cats indoor.
v. Wash the hands after handling animals’ food, waste or other supplies. Make use of gloves and also wash the hands after removing gloves.
vi. Practice good hygiene and cleaning up of pets properly. If the pet or other animals become sick do not take them to the veterinarian, instead call the veterinarian to your home.
vii. While milching the animals make use of gloves and masks and thoroughly clean the teats of milching cattles. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands and while you are working with animals.
viii. Poultry birds also have nothing to do with this virus. There have been reports of selling of the poultry birds and eggs at throw away prices from different parts of the country. Such type of selling should be totally avoided. |
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