Mass buffalo deaths in Quy Chau: District and commune slow to take action

For more than half a month now, in Khe Lan and Na Xen villages, Chau Hanh commune, Quy Chau district, the number of buffaloes that died from septicemia is about 30. People butchered them and sold them around the village or traders brought "refrigerated" trucks to the place to transport them to the lowlands for sale. Surprisingly, the buffaloes died for more than half a month and the district just found out now. The risk of a major disaster spreading septicemia in buffaloes and cows is alarming...

Mass death of buffalo

Following the steep slopes, we made our way to Khe Lan village, Chau Hanh commune, Quy Chau in the rainy afternoon. Mr. Vi Van Thanh - Deputy of Khe Lan village, said sadly: Most recently, on August 15, 2011, villagers discovered a dead buffalo in Pu Muong but no one claimed it. This buffalo was butchered for meat, only the skeleton and head were left rolling on the hillside. On the morning of August 16, another buffalo belonging to Mr. Luong Van Hanh was discovered dead at Khe Xen dam, traders had come to the scene to transport it.

Mr. Vi Van Du in Na Xen village has just brought a calf from the forest for treatment.

According to local people, starting on August 1, 2011, the first buffalo of Mr. Vi Van Hieu's family in Khe Lan village died, then on August 3, 12 buffaloes fell ill and died at once in Pu Muong area. Traders from all over came to compete to buy the dead buffaloes, they paid a pittance. For example, for the 3 dead buffaloes of Mr. Vi Van Dao, they paid 10 million VND. When they loaded them onto the car and drove a short distance, the trader came back and asked for 3 million VND less because the buffaloes "smelled". Mr. Vi Van Huy's family had 5 buffaloes die at once, they sold 3 to the trader, and butchered the remaining 2 to sell in the village. Mr. Vi Van Chung lamented: "With so many buffaloes dying, how can we plow?"

In 2008, my husband and I borrowed 10 million VND from the policy bank to buy a buffalo for plowing. In recent years, thanks to the buffalo's pulling power, our family has been able to cultivate more fields. Before we could celebrate, on August 4, the buffalo died. My wife cried all day long because of the buffalo. Ms. Thi from Tan Lac Town paid 1.8 million VND and then took the buffalo away. The case of Mr. Lo Van Hoi's family is really pitiful. They also borrowed 10 million VND from the bank to buy a buffalo. After taking care of it for 5 months, the buffalo died. Traders paid 3.5 million VND, then a moment later they returned the buffalo and asked for money because they thought it was a "smelly buffalo" and could not be sold to anyone.

District and commune indifferent?

Faced with the mass death of buffaloes, panicked households bought medicine to treat sick buffaloes but still could not. On August 13, villagers discovered 8 dead buffaloes at the same time in Pu Muong area, however, no one claimed the dead buffaloes because these 8 buffaloes were all butchered, leaving only skin, bones and entrails. Mr. Vi Dinh Hiem - Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Chau Hanh commune, was upset: At that time, I proposed to Mr. Sam Van Thiet - Chairman of the People's Committee of Chau Hanh commune to coordinate with the District Police and the District Department of Agriculture so that they could investigate and verify whose buffaloes died, and prevent traders from rushing into Khe Lan and Na Xen villages to transport dead buffaloes for consumption to avoid spreading the disease. However, no one came in, only veterinary officers and commune officials.

According to the villagers, it was not until August 13 that the commune cadres and veterinary staff brought medicine to the village to disinfect. But because the buffalo died far from the residential area in Pu Muong, they had to climb mountains and wade through streams, so they brought the medicine back. In Khe Lan and Na Xen villages, Luong Thi Vinh is a veterinary officer, responsible for treating and curing diseases in buffalo and cows, but Vinh is always irresponsible in her work, and often skimps on medicine. For example, when the dosage required is 40 cc, Vinh only injects 20 cc, not to mention selling expensive veterinary medicine to the villagers. Mr. Thanh - Deputy, said frankly: "The district veterinary staff is very irresponsible, when they go to vaccinate buffaloes and cows, they don't want to go into the forest to vaccinate, so they give out medicine and syringes for people to inject themselves. They tell people to "stab" the neck when they catch a buffalo, some people can't hear and "stab" the needle into the buffalo's butt. Or in the process of chasing and injecting, if they hit the target, if they don't hurt too much, the buffalo will rampage and gore people."

Talking to reporters, Mr. Sam Van Thiet - Chairman of Chau Hanh Commune People's Committee calmly said: The number of dead buffaloes in Khe Lan and Na Xen was only 15. We and the veterinary staff brought medicine to Khe Lan and Na Xen villages to disinfect, but at noon, it was 15 km to Pu Muong, it was too far to go, so we had to turn back. In the case of veterinary staff Luong Thi Vinh for her lack of responsibility, we disciplined her and fired her.

Meeting with the district leaders, we were told by Mr. Tran Van Chuong - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quy Chau district: At exactly 11 o'clock on August 16, 2011, I just learned about the buffalo deaths. I quickly went to the village to grasp the situation and directed the cadres to disinfect. Head of the Department of Agriculture of Quy Chau - Lo Thanh Son said: On August 8, 2011, I learned about the buffalo deaths and sent cadres to verify and at the same time directed the Veterinary Station to inject and treat. We did not know about the "frozen" trucks coming to buy dead buffaloes, because people mainly secretly sold them. Ms. Lang Thi Hong - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quy Chau district, shared more: Regarding anthrax, the epidemic has not been declared for a long time. In 2011, Quy Chau had 68 buffaloes die in Chau Nga, Chau Hoan also did not declare the epidemic.

In particular, this disease also has no mechanism to support people when buffaloes die. Currently, the district is directing the Veterinary Station to spray disinfectants at households with dead buffaloes and vaccinate neighboring villages. The district Veterinary Station is treating 13 buffaloes with anthrax. Ms. Nguyen Thi Vinh - Head of the district Veterinary Station, admitted: During the treatment of anthrax, because the buffaloes were far away in the forest, she "asked" the people to come and vaccinate them. Currently, the households with dead buffaloes have been disinfected, however, we cannot access the buffaloes that died dozens of kilometers away from the district center.

Through investigation, it was found that the mass death of buffaloes in Na Xen and Khe Lan villages of Chau Hanh commune was too slow for district and commune officials to intervene. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the mass death of buffaloes took half a month to be reported. The problem now is that Quy Chau district needs to urgently announce the epidemic to isolate the epidemic area, establish checkpoints to prevent the transportation of dead buffaloes out of the area, and avoid the risk of spreading the disease. Especially in the area where buffaloes died in Pu Muong, which is a grazing area of ​​about 500 hectares, dozens of kilometers from residential areas, it is necessary to go there to disinfect. Otherwise, the epidemic will continue to "recur" from Pu Muong.

Van Truong