Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Camel deaths spark anger in Saudi Arabia
Camel breeders in Saudi Arabia are blaming the government for "toxic fodder" that killed thousands of camels over the past month.
- Agencies
- Published: 15:58 September 9, 2007
- Image Credit: Reuters
- Many camel owners said the deaths have been caused by the bran fed to the animals instead of the more expensive barley.
Riyadh: Camel breeders in Saudi Arabia are blaming the government for "toxic fodder" that killed thousands of camels over the past month.
"Officials of the agriculture ministry have remained arms-folded vis-a-vis this unprecedented disaster," camel owner Rashed Khalaf Bin Mithqal told the daily Al Watan.
In what the local press have described as a "national tragedy", at least 2,000 camels have died in Riyadh since early August.
Many owners said the deaths have been caused by the bran fed to the animals instead of the more expensive barley, the daily Al Hayat reported.
However, the agriculture ministry blamed "the wrong methods of stocking bran."
Agriculture Minister Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Balghnaim told Al Watan that preliminary results showed the bran was contaminated by poisonous fungi.
The affected camels reportedly lose control of their movements and suffer a cerebral haemorrhage and paralysis, an expert told Al Eqtisadiah daily.
News Editor's choice
-
Ukraine leaders fight over Russian language
Violence erupts in Ukraine parliament over a bill to allow use of Russian language in courts, hospitals
-
CBSE: 100% success in many UAE schools
6,000 students from 53 schools meet grade expectations in examinations
-
'I can’t believe he is not going to come back'
Seventeen-year-old boy went missing in Dubai during a visit from Pakistan
