Panic in Postribë/ Cattle die, type of infection unclear

2025-06-03 12:26:00, Sociale CNA

A farm in the village of Domen in Postriba, Shkodra, has been quarantined by the Regional Veterinary Directorate because some of the goats have tested positive for the virus. The owner of the farm, Zamir Milani, says that three goats have died and another has six, while there is information that the disease has also spread to sheep in the area, but according to him, other farmers are not speaking out because it could cause fear among Muslim believers who slaughter livestock, as we are on the eve of Eid al-Adha.

Panic in Postribë/ Cattle die, type of infection unclear

"This situation has been worrying me for two weeks. So far, 2 of them have died and another one is left in the mountains and I believe she has died too. I am asking for the disease to be discovered because I have 6 million lek old investment in this farm. If we go to the market, there is no registered cattle. I made the purchases 3 months ago. From a conversation with a farmer in Berat, who I know, he told me that the goats come from Greece. Greece cleans its farms and brings them to us infected. There are other farms in the area that may have this problem and I believe it has also spread to sheep, but they are afraid to speak out because it is before Eid al-Adha. I bought the goats for milk and before they used to produce 45 liters of milk, now only 10 liters. I think that 60% is spread in our area," says the owner of the farm, Milani.

The farmer says he has invested 600,000 lek to set up the farm and has spent over 40,000 lek on medication for the livestock, but so far he has not found a solution.

"In addition to the 6 million old lek investment, I have also spent over 400 thousand old lek on medicines. I have tried to serve them, but I am not succeeding. I want to save the others. It definitely hurts me economically. Here in our area I also see an incompetence of veterinarians regarding this issue," said Milani.

Inspectors from the Regional Veterinary Directorate in Shkodra arrived at this farm, placing it in quarantine, while inspector Muhamet Bisho says that tests will be urgently sent to the Veterinary Reference Institute in Tirana, as the disease that has affected the goats in Postribë is unclear.

Panic in Postribë/ Cattle die, type of infection unclear

"As soon as we received official information, we came here and took the tests that will be sent urgently to the Veterinary Reference Institute in Tirana. It is unclear what disease the goats were affected by, so the tests will be done. The purchase of small livestock from the farmer here was done for a matriculation certificate and this is a problem. Usually these diseases affect a maximum of 30% of the livestock on the farm. So far we have no information about any other farm and if anyone has problems they should notify us immediately. We have quarantined this farm here until we receive a response and take the appropriate measures. I call on farmers to buy livestock with a matriculation certificate," said Muhamet Bisho, Regional Veterinary Directorate Shkodra.

The trade and movement of small and large livestock is a constant concern even for farmers in the villages of Shkodra, but they have often expressed that they have no other option because there are no registered animals in the market, making the risk of contracting diseases high. /CNA