Hundreds of Cattle Stuck at East Java Port Amid Viral Disease Outbreak

TheIndonesia.id - As many as 736 cattle from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) are stuck at Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya after the region is currently hit with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak that infected more than a thousand of cattle and forced authorities to temporarily halt the transport of livestock.

The boat carrying these cattle, which are bound for Jakarta, is currently docked at the port and was unable to continue the planned trip.

“Currently, the boat is docked in Surabaya because the news [about FMD outbreak] was out just as the boat departed, so it couldn’t be avoided,” head NTT’s animal quarantine office Yulius Umbu H said on Tuesday, May 10, as reported by Antara.

“The cattle would be transported to Jakarta by land, but due to the virus, they are stuck at the port and couldn’t be returned to [NTT’s capital] Kupang,” he added.

East Java was the first province that reported FMD cases found on cattle within the region, and local authorities later issued ban on livestock transport to and from the province.

Yulius said his office continues to maintain communication with its counterpart in Surabaya to work on solution for the 736 cattle.

One of the possible solution is by transporting them through state-owned Cemara Nusantara sea toll, but the number of cargo must be reduced.

Yulius also confirmed that FMD has yet to be found in NTT, and livestock transport is also limited to and from the province.

As previously reported, East Java has reported confirmed cases of FMD within its area with 1,247 cattle were found to have been infected.

East Java governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa confirmed that authorities would prepare medication and vaccination program in the four regencies that reported FMD, and limited depopulation on cattle with FMD would be done in accordance to the Ministry of Agriculture’s regulation.