Beef sale resumes in Mawkyrwat market

MAWKYRWAT, June 19: Around two weeks after the sale of meat stopped due to the spread of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in more than 60 villages in South West Khasi Hills, the Synjuk Nongot Doh Masi (butcher association) Mawkyrwat on Monday resumed the sale of beef at Mawkyrwat market.
President of the Synjuk, Pailan Ramsiej has said that the Synjuk had decided to resume selling the meat again after observing that the Lumpy Skin Disease had started declining in every village.
“We also requested the general public not to be afraid of buying meat because we have decided to sell only the cows which show no sign of the Lumpy Skin Disease,” Ramsiej said.
He added that not many people bought beef on Monday, but expressed hope that the market will witness better business in the next few days.
The Synjuk has also resolved to prohibit anyone from selling the meat of those affected cows. “We will ensure that the meat will be of the healthy cows and we will not allow anyone trying to take advantage by buying affected cows at a cheap price. We have warned all the butchers about this,” Ramsiej said.
Meanwhile, officials said that though LSD can spread rapidly among the cows, especially those that are not vaccinated, but it is not a disease that kills large amount of cattle. He said that more than 60 villages were affected by the disease but less than 10 cows were reported dead due to the disease.
The officials also said that the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary department has conducted a massive vaccination drive in the district this month, and it has been able to complete about 60% vaccination in big villages with large number of cows, but the overall percentage is 50%.