Around 12,000 goats have been kept separately at the Deonar abattoir after they fell sick even as the civic-run facility’s management claimed to have made elaborate arrangements for their upkeep ahead of Bakri Id, which will be celebrated on Tuesday.
The goats allegedly fell ill due to the unclean water that is being provided to them for drinking purposes and are suffering from diarrhoea, among other ailments, according to a private veterinary doctor deployed at the site by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to man a clinic. Dr Anush Doctor, who works at Parel’s Bail Ghoda Hospital, said, “The goats are suffering from diarrhoea, cold, cough and fever. This is because of the unhealthy conditions in which they have been kept at the abattoir.”
She added, “They have been provided unclean water to drink. The goats are staying in dirty surroundings, and they are fatigued after having undertaken road journeys, some of which were 48 hours long.”
“No adequate arrangements have been made at the slaughterhouse to keep the goats in a safe, healthy condition,” she said. A total of 2.31 lakh goats are currently for sale at the abattoir.
There has been unprecedented influx of goats from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab. The BMC had provided a monsoon shed but the ground is already muddy due to rain. Water has been kept for bathing purposes, but it is being used for drinking. So, many goats are falling sick because they aren’t accustomed to living on wet and muddy ground.
Furthermore, the slaughterhouse has a cement floor, which tends to stink when urinated on. The situation could be averted if mud was used, as it absorbs urine. Also, the cattle are being fed unhealthy food.
Meanwhile, goat vendor Faiyas Godbole said, “Some goats vendors, in a bid to woo customers, deliberately make their goats drink soda water to make them look bloated. Low-quality grains, which absorb the soda water, makes the animals look fat, but this actually kills the goats in a matter of days.”
