• nearly 1000 cows, goats and buffalos in the North and the East had perished

Clinical tests are to be conducted to determine whether animals in the North and the East had died due to some epidemic, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday.  

Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera had instructed the ministry secretary Gunadasa Samarasinghe to conduct clinical tests and submit him a report.  

It is contemplated that cows, buffalos and goats had died due a cold bout that had hit the Northern and Eastern coastal areas as a result of the recent cyclonic storm in India.   Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that nearly 1000 cows, goats and buffalos in the North and the East had perished during the past few days.   Earlier President Ranil Wickremesinghe ordered the banning of transportation of meat temporarily.