Animal lovers, farmers warned to guard against ash sickness

Farmers and pet owners were being urged Friday to monitor their animals’ eating habits very closely over the next few weeks as the island recovers from the first wave of eruptions of the La Soufrière’s volcano in 42 years.

Dr Mark Trotman, Senior Veterinary Officer in the Ministry of Health said the fallen ash was extremely toxic to animals and urged owners to monitor what their animals are eating closely, amid several reports of animals being in difficulty this week.

“What we are seeing happening, is that several animals are coming down with respiratory problems; coughing, sneezing, ocular and nasal discharges, these are the acute signs of inhalation of the ash, and this is already manifesting itself across the island,” he told journalists.

The contamination of water bowls, toys, and other objects that animals normally come into contact with are also a worry for veterinarians, who are advising owners that contaminated food will cause digestive issues in the medium to long term.

Dr Trotman said: “The other problems that pets are facing, are contaminated feed bowls, contaminated water bowls, picking up toys that have been contaminated by the ash and ingesting the ash that in itself again causes secondary problems, chronic problems such as digestive problems. Vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, these are things that may not necessarily manifest themselves instantly, but you would start to see those happening a week later or so going forward.”

He stressed that animals should be kept as far away as possible from ash deposits to avoid any likely health issues.

Grazing animals are at the greatest risk from ash contamination, the Government veterinarian said, with many farmers often using open fields and small plots of land for their livestock, namely sheep, to graze freely.

While acknowledging that for most farmers, open grazing is the only viable option available to them, these animals should be watched very carefully, he suggested.

Dr Trotman said: “Wherever possible, sheep should be taken out of pastures, in sheltered areas, or at least paid very close attention to. If the animal’s faces are covered in ash, they should be washed to protect their eyes and their ears and their noses from contamination. This is very important.

“There are even further long term effects we are going to be getting from the sheep and cattle as well too because the ash is so abrasive and they are taking in the ash, this is from reports we are getting from veterinarians from countries that have experienced volcanic ash problems; that is that the teeth of the ruminants start to wear down. They actually start to wear right down and break because of the abrasive nature of the ash, and they may become inappetent.”

These issues could in the long term lead to a myriad of health concerns for these animals that could cause starvation, he warned.
With the current food source of these animals being affected, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Barbados Agricultural Society are currently in the process of sourcing imported food for the animals from other markets, he told journalists. (SB)