Livestock farmers in the State are facing an unprecedented crisis as intense heat and humidity are having a deadly effect on farm animals. While dairy cow mortality has hit an all-time high with thermal stress killing around 500 cattle across the State in two-and-a-half months, poultry producers are also in distress.
Farmers say the cows, mostly crossbreeds, just started collapsing and deaths are rather unusual.
As temperature and humidity continues to soar, two worst-hit districts are Kollam and Palakkad that reported 105 and 67 cattle deaths respectively. “I have been rearing cows for over 30 years, but I am seeing heatstroke deaths for the first time,” says Nizam, a dairy farmer from Kollam. His cow had delivered a calf on April 6 and last week it started to slobber while the breathing became very laboured. Though Mr. Nizam kept the cow hydrated and used to pour water on its body three to four times a day, it soon collapsed and died. An autopsy conducted by the Animal Husbandry department confirmed that the animal died due to extreme thermal stress. “The cow had cost me ₹75,000 and it was producing around 20 litres of milk a day. I have 14 more cows and I can see them struggling to tolerate thermal stress,” he adds.
