Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Treating livestock with human medicine is now known to increase resistance to antibiotics faster than expected in Uganda, medics have warned. Medical and environmental health practitioners say the practice is tipping the scale of resistance towards epidemic proportions in the near future unless stopped, slowed …
Read More »Karamoja residents resort to wildlife poaching, several arrested
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More than 37 people in Karamoja region have been arrested over the last one month for poaching small antelopes also known as dikidikis. Ediau Echodu, the Officer in charge of Bokora-Matheniko wild reserve corridor, says majority of the culprits are from Kidepo Pupu village in …
Read More »Uganda to host regional livestock Gene bank
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda is set to launch a regional Gene Bank, a scientific measure to preserve indigenous animal genetic materials which are threatened by population pressure, land scarcity and climate change, among other man made factors. The bank will preserve animal genetic resources germplasm for 12 …
Read More »McDonald’s unveils plan for cutting antibiotics in beef
New York, United States | AFP | McDonald’s announced a plan early this month for a phased reduction of antibiotics in beef, expanding a health-oriented reform to a new meat source other than chicken. The fast-food giant described a three-stage process where it would first undertake a study of its …
Read More »Amnesty says over 3,600 killed in Nigeria’s farmer-herder violence
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | More than 3,600 people have been killed in clashes between farmers and herders in Nigeria since 2016, Amnesty International said on Monday, blaming the government’s failure to punish the perpetrators for fuelling the violence. The international human rights organisation said more than 2,000 were killed …
Read More »Five more killed in Nigeria communal violence: police
Makurdi, Nigeria | AFP | Five people have been killed in fresh clashes between farmers and nomadic herders in Benue state in central Nigeria, the epicentre of a wave of deadly violence this year over grazing land, police said Monday. “Just yesterday we had a case where two persons were …
Read More »Kenya summons Tanzanian envoy over cow row
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | Tanzania’s ambassador was summoned to explain why Kenyan cows had been forcibly auctioned after crossing into Tanzania, officials said, the latest development in a spat between the east African neighbours. In October, Tanzania seized and sold 1,300 Kenyan cattle which had been driven …
Read More »WHO: Stop using antibiotics in animals to prevent spread of resistance in humans
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization on Tuesday urged farmers to stop using antibiotics in healthy animals to help ensure the drugs remain effective in fighting life-threatening diseases in humans. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animals and humans is contributing to the growing threat of “superbugs”, …
Read More »Planet-warming methane from livestock underestimated: study
Paris, France | AFP | Emissions of the greenhouse gas methane from livestock are larger than previously thought, posing an additional challenge in the fight to curb global warming, scientists said Friday. Revised calculations of methane produced per head of cattle show that global livestock emissions in 2011 were 11 percent …
Read More »Nigeria warned land wars threaten national security
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria was warned on Tuesday that clashes between herders and farmers threatened the country’s national security, after such conflict claimed more lives last year than the Boko Haram insurgency. The International Crisis Group said some 2,500 people were killed in 2016 and tens of thousands …
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