Stakeholders in livestock
business have solicited improvement in veterinary practice to boost healthy cattle production in the country.
They made the appeal in separate interviews with journalists in Lagos, recently.
They said that government should intervene by making the service accessible and affordable to livestock farmers and dealers.
Malam Idris Gunjugu, cattle trader from Jigawa, noted that many farmers could not access the service of qualified veterinary doctors due to financial constraints.
“Veterinary doctors take care of diseases of livestock and help control the spread of such diseases which may result in the deaths of these animals.
“Many livestock dealers often resolve to traditional and herbal methods in curing diseases of their livestock because of its affordability and accessibility.
“These methods, although age-long, are often not reliable as the farmers, many times, lose their stocks to the diseases,’’ he said.
Also, Mr Yahya Ilyasu, a cattle dealer in Agege, Lagos, remarked that government had not done enough in sensitising the dealers to the importance of animal immunisation.
According to him, many farmers are not enlightened enough to appreciate the services of veterinary practitioners.
He added that they often feel financially burdened about the cost of veterinary service.
Ilyasu, therefore, appealed to the government to assist cattle rearers in vaccinating their livestock as preventive measures against diseases.
However, Dr Yemi Oki, a veterinary practitioner, said that veterinary medicine, like every other profession, was not cheap.
He remarked that farmers should understand that money should be exchanged for valuable service.
“They should understand that a healthy society can only be guaranteed when such society is prevented from diseases.
“Unknown to many, about 60 per cent of the micro-organisms that cause diseases in humans have their origin from animals.
“When veterinary doctor is given the opportunity to control these animal diseases, human beings will become healthier,’’ he said.