SEVEN years after enactment of the animal quarantine act, the government has taken an initiative to set up 24 animal quarantines in the country’s entry points to prevent trans-boundary diseases and to uncover the huge potentials of exporting animal products. In the absence of any internationally standard quarantine station, the country has been losing potential exports of beef meat, and poultry for long. The time-worthy move hopefully will open the windows of exporting Halal meats to different destinations, including Muslim countries, the EU and the US.
Bangladesh in every year imports more than five million cows and another five million cattle are being smuggled into the country from bordering India and Myanmar without facing any quarantine, exposing our nation to a serious health hazard. A report carried in a national daily on Saturday said that the Department of Livestock would set up animal quarantine stations without properly following the guidelines of Livestock Diseases Prevention and Control. The project involving Tk 50 crore started in July, 2012 and is scheduled to complete in December, 2014.
Animal quarantine is mandatory for global trade of animal and animal products and their import and export inspections for preventing the invasion of trans-boundary diseases into the country. To set up quarantine the government has allocated only 20 decimals of land for each station with the accommodation capacity of a few cows and some poultry birds only. Though a modern laboratory is one of the prerequisites of quarantine but this has been largely ignored, except for the stations being provided with some disease test kits. According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines, each station should be provided with veterinary service for making clinical examination, obtaining specimens of material for diagnostic purposes from animals and animal products meant for export or import, isolating animals affected by epizootic diseases and carrying out disinfection.
Under the project, five quarantine stations have primarily been established at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, and Sona Masjid, Hilly, Benapole and Bhomra land ports. And the other 19 quarantine stations would be set up in phases, the report said.
Amidst the outbreak of Ebola virus in Africa, and the country’s deadly experiences of trans-boundary diseases like Avian Influenza, Bird-flu, mad cow disease and anthrax carried by animals and birds, setting up an animal quarantine is an urgent requirement. So the government should give more allocation of land and funds for the setting up of quarantine stations to check illegal entry of animals and animal products and bring the legal ones under medical check-up.
Echoing the experts, we also ask the government to take immediate steps to stop illegal and unchecked entry of cattle from India and other neighbouring countries as an animal carrying a disease can cause an outbreak of the disease in the country. We hope the government will take all possible steps so that any animal with any disease cannot enter the country to protect the lives of millions and also explore the potentialities of meat export.
