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Jakarta Post

Spread of livestock disease on Merapi to be mapped

To help speed up the economic recovery in animal husbandry on the slopes of Mt

Slamet Susanto (The Jakarta Post)
Sleman
Mon, December 10, 2012

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Spread of livestock disease on Merapi to be mapped

T

o help speed up the economic recovery in animal husbandry on the slopes of Mt. Merapi after the 2010 eruptions, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and the Agriculture Ministry will make a map of animal diseases and their spread in the area.

“The slopes of Merapi are very suitable for husbandry. The map will speed up the recovery process and will help find solutions to livestock problems,” director of UGM’s Soeparwi animal hospital Ida Tjahjati said.

As an initial step, a team of veterinarians started taking samples last week samples of cow feces, blood and milk in the three affected regencies of Sleman in Yogyakarta and Klaten and Magelang in Central Java.

The samples are to be taken from 200 cows in each regency.

“While taking the samples, the team will medicate both dairy and beef cattle,” said Ida, adding that the Agriculture Ministry had provided funds of between Rp 300 million (US$31,000) and Rp 400 million.

There are roughly 400 beef cattle and some 3,800 dairy cows in Sleman regency.

“This is very few when compared to the figure before the eruptions. There used to be over 5,000 cattle here,” head of Sleman Regency Agriculture, Fishery and Husbandry Agency, Slamet Riyadi Martoyo, said.

The population of dairy cows on the slopes of Merapi is expected to return to 5,000 by 2014.

The 2010 Merapi eruptions, the biggest in the last 100 years, claimed some 300 lives, destroyed 23 villages and killed over 3,400 cattle belonging to some 1,350 residents.

The government paid almost Rp 24 billion in compensation for the dead livestock with prices ranging from Rp 3.5 million to Rp 8.5 million per head, depending on the age of the cattle.

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