Pekanbaru, Indonesia – The Riau Animal Husbandry and Animal Health Office has set up five checkpoints ahead of Eid al-Adha to prevent animals infected with foot and mouth disease (FMD) from entering the area.
“These five checkpoints were established at the inter-provincial border, specifically to monitor the (distribution) of sacrificial cattle to Riau from neighboring provinces,” said the head of the Riau Animal Husbandry and Animal Health Office, as reiterated on Saturday by Head of the Animal Health Division Faralinda Sari in Pekanbaru.
The five stations, he added, were in Rokan Hilir and Rokan Hulu, both of which were near North Sumatra Province.
The post was also located in the Kampar District, which borders West Sumatra, as well as in Kuantan Singingi and Selensen, Indragiri Hilir, which served as the gateway to Lampung and Java.
“Personnel has been despatched to each post. Three persons are assigned to inspect cars transporting animals from outside the province. If the documents are missing, they will be advised to return “He mentioned this.
Riau is currently implementing stringent monitoring of cattle trade distribution, especially after FMD instances were detected in three districts, albeit this does not indicate that the trade has been halted entirely. It could still be done, but only in compliance with the method.
“It is still permissible to buy cattle from outside the province, (from a place) where there are no cases of FMD, provided that the management of recommendations for livestock import has a permit for recommendations for livestock import between provinces (issued by the) Riau Integrated Service and Investment Office (DPMPTSP),” he said.
A certificate of animal health, laboratory test results, and no history of FMD infection in the previous 30 days are also required.
“Only Bengkulu, in this part of Sumatra, is free of FMD. Other locations, including Riau, have been afflicted. As a result, we’ve built a checkpoint (inspection) post “He made a statement.
According to livestock office data, the availability or stock of sacrifice animals, such as cows, buffaloes, and goats, in Riau Province to meet the needs for Eid al-Adha was only 12 thousand, or 30% of the overall demand of 42 thousand cattle.
This made it more difficult for individuals to find cows for Eid al-Adha. It was made worse by the fact that the neighboring provinces, who normally provided the animals, were currently dealing with an outbreak.