Russian reindeer to be culled to arrest spread of anthrax

Due to the spread of anthrax disease in Russia, a decision has been taken to cull the population of reindeer. As indicated by a governor in Russia's far north, the reindeer population will be drastically reduced by 100,000. However, in the opinion of scientists, twice as many need to be culled.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 11 October 2016.

Reindeer herding is an important industry and livelihood for indigenous peoples in the Yamal-Nenets region and its governor has revealed that there was a need to cull about 100,000 reindeer this winter because of overpopulation that was straining a limited food supply, thereby, increasing the risk of anthrax infection.
This, incidentally, is the first anthrax outbreak in Yamal-Nenets since 1941 and, in July and August this year, the disease has already claimed the lives of a 12-year-old boy and more than 2,500 reindeer.
Scientists and officials attribute this revival of the “zombie infection” to abnormally high temperatures caused by global warming and climate change. In fact, thawing of the permafrost soil can release the frozen bacteria.
Regional authorities will buy the reindeer to be culled and process the meat. If suitable steps are not taken, there will be a mass die-off in the near future because the animals will not be able to survive against lack of fodder and various diseases.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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