Beef, mutton and pork banned in Gampaha

8 March 2014 02:30 am Views - 9165

The slaughtering of cattle, goats and pigs, selling and transporting of beef, mutton and pork will be banned in the Gampaha District from today as several head of cattle with foot and mouth were detected in the area.

Animal Production and Health Department Director General Dr. W.K. de Silva said the gazette notification in this regard had been sent to the Government printer yesterday.

Earlier stalls of beef, mutton and pork were closed in seven districts following the spread of the disease among cattle in those districts and now it has spread to the Western Province and the Southern Province as well, Dr. Silva said.

Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Ampara, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura and Puttalam were the seven districts in which the ban had been already in force.

It has been revealed that cattle in the Karandeniya area in the Galle District have contracted the disease after several heads of cattle were brought to the area from Welisara in the Gampaha District.(Sanath Desmond)