Kupang – The Livestock Service Office of Southwest Sumba, Sumba Island, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), is issuing livestock ownership cards (KTP-T) for animals such as cattle, water buffalo, and horses to prevent theft. The aim is to increase the population of large livestock animals in the region.

“Each animal will have a KTP-T with a hologram that is specific to the area of origin, this way animal health officers at harbors could easily identify the animals as they are transported across islands or reported missing,” said Head if the Livestock Service Office of Southwest Sumba, Timotius Bulu in Kupang, on Thursday (12/5).

He added that the hologram KTP-T will not only be applied by Southwest Sumba, but also West Sumba, Central Sumba, and East Sumba districts, to assist officers in the region in identifying livestock.

Timotius Bulu said the KTP-T for large livestock animals in Sumba Island is also meant to simplify the process of collecting basic data on animal population, gender, age, animal groups, husbandry system, animal mutation, slaughter, and insemination.

Besides the KTP-T, said Timotius, each animal owner will also be provide with a special book to record all large and small livestock animals owned and the selling and slaughtering of animals after receiving permit from officers. Data collection in 2000 counts over 50 thousand large livestock animals in Sumba Island, which is far less than the previous 10 years which reached hundreds of thousands.

”This was caused by Surra outbreaks in the last few years in Sumba, it caused a sharp decline in the cattle and water buffalo population,” he said.

He said this policy emerged after NTT Governor, Frans Lebu Raya, announced NTT as a livestock producer province as an effort from the regional government to support beef and buffalo meat self-sufficiency in 2014, a target of the central government.

”We also aim to make Sumba Island a livestock breeding center for NTT outside of Timor Island due to the cultural demands of the local people,” said Timotius Bulu. (Ant/OL-2)

Source : Media Indonesia