Cyclone affects 4.5 million cattle
Always vulnerable to natural disasters due to its geographical location in South Asia, cyclone Sidr that recently hit Bangladesh is said to have caused significant damage to the country’s national herd.
According to the Department of Livestock Services, over one 100,000 cattle were killed and over 800 cattle farms destroyed in the four most severely-affected regions of the country and initial estimates suggest that the livestock sector has suffered a Tk 3000 million ($43 million) loss as a direct result of the severe weather conditions.
Some 4.5 million cattle are thought to have been caught up in the cyclone and further deaths are expected as a result of infections picked up in the chaos after the storm. Speaking to local media, Sunil Chandra Ghosh, director general of the Department of Livestock Services, said a huge number of cattle had been infected with different diseases as drinking water and feed ran short in the worst affected areas.
