LIMBOTO– About 106 cattle owned by residents in Bongomeme subdistrict, Gorontalo district, suddenly died. The incident started in early December.

These mysterious cattle deaths occurred in several villages in Bongomeme subdistrict, includingtwo animals in Liyodu, 17 animalsin Batuloreng, 20 animalsin Molanihu, 1 animal in Dulamayo, 20 animalsin Tahupo, 6 animalsin Liyato, 10 animalsin Moopatodu, and 5 animalsin Batu Layar.

The cause of death is still unknown, while cattle death occurs every day. Poisoning is suspected because examination of dead animals by officers from Livestock Services found severe damage and hemorrhaging in the intestines.

Head of Gorontalo District Livestock Services, Haris Tome said there is difficulty in confirming the cause of death because no sample could be obtained for laboratory testing. Sick animals were quickly slaughtered and sold by their owners. “Hence we could not get samples from other animals to compare it with previous test results,” said Tome.

Cattle owners were also late in reporting the incident to Livestock Services. “We can only advice cattle owners to not immediately sell or get rid of their animals immediately after slaughter because we need to test those animals,” he said.

So far, clinical examination of dead animals ruled out viral infection or other animal diseases as the cause of death.

Head of Bongomeme Police Sector, Imran Laonga confirmed the incident. “Currently we are conducting further investigation on reports sent in regarding this incident. We need to know if the animals died because of natural poisoning or were deliberately poisoned,” said Laonga.

Molanihu village chief, S. Malahedi also had a similar concern. So far 20 cattle in Molanihu died due to this incident. “Seventeen people reported the sudden death of their cattle. Some of them lost 2 animals in this incident,” he said.

Many cattle owners suffered tens of millions of rupiahs in loss due to this incident. This is the first case of massive cattle die-off in Bongomeme subdistrict, Gorontalo district. (Tr-31/dkk/jpnn)

Source: Jawa Pos National Network