The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Vitamin supplements for hoofed animals suggested

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Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Vitamin supplements for hoofed animals suggested

Staff Reporter

Do not re-stock mithun enclosures: expert

Post veterinary pathologist at the zoo, says report
Fodder, meat brought inside the zoo to be monitored

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The veterinary expert who visited the city zoo on Monday to study the Foot and Mouth Disease situation has recommended that the zoo refrain from re-stocking the mithun and wild boar enclosures for at least a month.

Report

In his draft report D. Swaroop the head of veterinary medicine, Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, has also recommended that the zoo be kept closed for two more weeks.

Vitamins A, D, E, zinc, calcium, phosphorous and selenium must be added to the diet of hoofed animals.

Various animal enclosures and their surrounding areas should be thoroughly disinfected using one to two per cent sodium hydroxide or four per cent sodium carbonate. The garbage generated in the zoo should be disinfected using 10 per cent formalin before being taken out for disposal, the draft report reads.

As part of the efforts to contain the FMD virus the bedding provided inside the enclosures of animals now infected with FMD must be burnt and disposed.

At present, the African cape buffalo, the spotted deer, the sambhar deer and the blackbuck have been infected with the FMD virus.

Foot dips

The foot dips kept at the entry and exit points of the zoo compound must be filled either with a 10 per cent copper sulphate solution or with a 10 per cent zinc sulphate solution.

The foot dips were installed to try and prevent the entry/ exit of the FMD virus through the footwear of visitors to the zoo.

Human and vehicular movement inside the zoo should be restricted to a minimum, Dr. Swaroop has recommended.

The draft report also calls for a strict monitoring of the fodder and meat brought inside the zoo. Animals should be given their daily feed only after the fodder/meat has been tested for the presence of the FMD virus.

The draft report also recommends that a veterinary pathologist be posted at the zoo to enable better animal management.

Dr. Swaroop would submit his final report in a couple of days after consulting his colleagues at the IVRI, zoo director Elcy George said here on Tuesday.

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