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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Floods may wipe out millions of livestock: UN |
| 2010-08-21 |
| [Dawn] Pakistan's devastating floods have killed or are threatening millions of heads of livestock, the UN food agency warned Friday, launching an urgent appeal for animal feed. The livestock are "badly in need of food and medicine," the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation said, adding that the floods have affected intensive livestock farming areas. Some 200,000 cows, sheep, buffalo, goats and donkeys have already been lost, but the toll will possibly be in the millions including poultry, the FAO said in a statement. Many animals have died because people have had to abandon them when they were rescued from the floods, it said. "You can put chickens, goats and sheep in the boat and take them with you, but you can't take a buffalo or a cow," said FAO livestock expert Simon Mack. Livestock makes up about half of agricultural output in Pakistan, where three weeks of flooding has claimed nearly 1,500 lives and submerged about a fifth of the country -- roughly the size of England. "The main priority -- and challenge -- is to get feed to those animals," said David Doolan, who heads FAO programmes in Pakistan. The United Nations has asked for an initial 5.7 million dollars in emergency assistance for livestock, the FAO said. "We are still trying to get a feel of how much feed is available in country, as much of it has been destroyed. Then we have to transport the feed which is also challenging with so much of the infrastructure damaged," Mack said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 I agree with hellfish. and black chalie that was funny as hell. |
| Posted by: chris 2010-08-21 23:49 |
| #10 Wait a minute. They got all this food, in self-propelled meat storage units that are gonna die if they aren't fed? Where do I go to donate BBQ sauce and charcoal briquets? |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2010-08-21 23:47 |
| #9 How about the US just moves on to something important. Pakistani flood? How is that my problem? Plus, they hate me - so I hate them back. Starve. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2010-08-21 21:51 |
| #8 Here's an idea - to feed the people, parachute in a whole bunch of grills and have the people eat grilled steak. (Like we did after the hurricane when the power was out and we didn't want the stuff in the freezer to completely go to waste.) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-08-21 19:43 |
| #7 Ms. Anderson, please file this away in our Katrina folder if you will. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-08-21 16:31 |
| #6 asked for an initial 5.7 million dollars That's just to fund the place settings at the inevitable conference in Bali this tragedy requires. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2010-08-21 13:01 |
| #5 I'll forgo the obvious comment. Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-08-21 08:52 I wont, there goes the Pakistani sex tourism industry |
| Posted by: Black Charlie 2010-08-21 09:49 |
| #4 Too bad cows aren't carniverous - would solve THREE problems at once (starving cows, starving refugees and supply of future terrorists.) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-08-21 09:07 |
| #3 I'll forgo the obvious comment. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-08-21 08:52 |
| #2 "You can put chickens, goats and sheep in the boat and take them with you, but you can't take a buffalo or a cow," said FAO livestock expert Simon Mack. and that observation is what makes Simon a livestock expert...... |
| Posted by: classer 2010-08-21 02:50 |
| #1 "The main priority -- and challenge -- is to get feed to those animals," said David Doolan, who heads FAO programmes in Pakistan. Hey, here's a crazy idea: let's slaughter the unfed cattle to feed the unfed human refugees of the flood, then we can fix two problems for the price of one. |
| Posted by: trailing wife in Amsterdam 2010-08-21 02:46 |