Lúcia Nórcio
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Curitiba - On Thursday (23), the government of Paraná, a state in southern Brazil, authorized the disbursement of US$ 368 thousand to cover the costs of the sanitary slaughter of 6,412 animals on seven ranches where the Ministry of Agriculture detected outbreaks of hoof and mouth disease.

According to a note released by the government, the funds will be used to pay for the excavation of burial pits, the performance of autopsies on some of the animals that will be sacrificed, food and hotel expenses for the technical team that will conduct the operation, and the purchase of disposable coveralls and the waterproof shround required by the Environmental Institute of Paraná (IAP) and the Department of Environment's Superintendency for the Development of Water Resources and Environmental Health (SUDERHSA).

To find a definitive solution to the technical standoff in the state, the owners of the ranches where the outbreaks were detected accepted the culling of the animals. However, they made the performance of autopsies on the animals that reacted positively to blood plasma tests a condition for the immediate sacrifice of their herds. The material that is gathered will be sent to the Pan-American Hoof and Mouth Disease Center (PANAFTOSA) for analysis.

Translation: David Silberstein