Cattle farmers in Kafr el-Sheikh say their cows are dying from meningitis because public veterinary services have failed to vaccinate their animals for more than one year.
"We have had to vaccinate cows ourselves and bear the extra cost of LE55 per dose," said local cattle farmer Mohamed Salem.
On Wednesday, the Cairo-based Human Rights Center urged Agriculture Minister Amin Abaza to compensate farmers that had lost cattle to the sickness. The center pointed out that dead cows on the streets and in the canals around the villages of Kafr el-Sheikh threaten local residents with disease.
Mohamed el-Beheiri, head of Kafr el-Sheikh’s Preventive Medicine Department, denied any cases of meningitis among cattle. "We vaccinate the cows every six months," he said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
