Christ Church cow itch menace to be tackled, landowner vows

Relief is in sight for residents of St David’s and Staple Grove in Christ Church, who have been suffering from a persistent cow itch infestation. The landowner has pledged to address the issue, which has been plaguing the community for years, particularly during the sugarcane harvest season.

On Friday, Om Prakash, the owner of a large plot of land near the Blackman and Gollop Primary School, told Barbados TODAY that he was implementing measures to remove the cow itch from the field.

Residents reached out to Barbados TODAY complaining about the pestilence causing itchy skin and underscored the need to have the issue addressed. They said that the problem was an ongoing one for the past several years and surfaced around the sugarcane harvest, adding that since the start of the year, they had been affected.

When contacted, Prakash said that he was aware of the issue but the weather was hampering his efforts to have the cow itch removed.

“We clear around the school every year,” he said. “But this year the rain is falling all of the time and stopping the machinery from getting into the fields. But it will be cleared, we are taking care of it. We don’t want it to become a big problem. I am very concerned about it too.”

 (SZB)