‘Rotten fodder from Al Ain civic body kills sheep’

AL AIN — A UAE national has complained that rotten fodder bought from the Al Ain Department of Municipalities and Agriculture (Aadma) has resulted in the death of 43 sheep in his flock. Abdulla Mubarak Al Kaby said that the sheep died after eating the spoilt fodder.

By Lana Mahdi

Published: Mon 1 May 2006, 10:51 AM

Last updated: Sat 4 Apr 2015, 7:35 PM

Nevertheless, Jumaa Harib Al Emaimy, Deputy of Aadma, Agriculture Section, said that the reason for the death of sheep and camels is unidentified, adding that laboratories have not issued the final results after analysing the Roodis fodder.

Al Kaby said that several weeks ago, when he went to the Agriculture Department of the Al Ain Municipality to buy fodder, he discovered that the civic body issued new cards.

He filled the form to get a new card, and the civic staff told him to come back after a few days to get the new card. “Unfortunately, my form and documentation papers went missing in the municipality. Then, I went to the deputy’s office and he advised me to buy fodder through the old card,” he added.

Al Kaby bought the Roodis fodder from the Al Anka Centre in Remah near Al Ain as told by the municipality. He highlighted that the sheep after eating the fodder looked ill and after two days, six sheep perished every day. Al Kaby said that the veterinarians he consulted from the Aadma’s laboratories who checked perished sheep, and private veterinarians from outside the department said that the sheep died due to bad fodder found in its stomachs. “I told the Aadma deputy, he assured me that his sheep also perished, but the two incidents are due to fate and fortune,” Al Kaby said.

He said that the Aadma Deputy assured him that the case would be investigated by the legal section of the municipality. “The official was investigating me, not the case. He acted as if he is the judge and me the defendant,” he added. Old Roodis is still being distributed to locals, said Al Kaby.

Al Emaimy, the Aadma Deputy, said that there are 35,000 bales of old Roodis in the stores, and they are distributed at cheaper rates. He highlighted that nobody can say for sure that the livestock perished due to Roodis, adding: “Why did Al Kaby buy the fodder, despite it looking rotten? Laboratory results have not mentioned that the Roodis fodder is the cause of the death of the livestock,” he added.