About 1,000 farm animals in some towns and cities of Negros Occidental that had shown symptoms of pneumonia and other chronic respiratory illnesses, have already been treated, Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena, said yesterday.

Decena said the animals were given antibiotics and were injected with vitamins A, B and E to strengthen their immune system.

He said PVO may request a supplemental budget for the purchase of additional medicines for the farm animals affected by the extreme cold.

Aside from respiratory-related illnesses, other farm animals suffered from gastro-intestinal disorders, indigestion and loss of appetite, Decena said.

The extreme cold since January 2 has also caused the death of the following: sheep – 49, swine – 38, goat – 9, cattle – 7, and carabao – 3, in 24 barangays costing P894,086 but the poultry industry is the most affected with the death of 486 gamefowls and egg-laying chickens valued in P2.2 million, PVO records showed.

Despite this, there is no need for the Province to declare a state of calamity because the dead animals only represent a small portion of the entire population of the farm animals in Negros Occidental, Decena said.

Decena said the poultry population of Negros Occidental is 6 million, cattle and carabao-50,000, swine-600,000, sheep 6,000 and sow-60,000.

He said they discussed with paravets and veterinarians how to mitigate the effects of cold weather on animals.*APN

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