Bhanjanagar: There is no let-up in sheep killings at villages in this block of Ganjam district as 13 more sheep were killed at Kupati village late Sunday night
Twelve sheep were killed in an attack by an animal at nearby Badapathara village Saturday night. Rama Goud of Kupati had tied 25 goats and sheep in his shed. His son Chandra, who had witnessed Saturday’s incident at Badapathara, went to the shed Sunday night and found all the livestock safe.
However, he was perplexed to find 13 of his sheep lying dead on the haystack at about 4 am. Eyewitnesses claimed that the animal might have dragged the sheep to the haystack and killed them.
The incident has triggered panic among the villagers who sought protection for their livestock. On being informed, Ghumusar divisional forest officer (DFO) Ramsami P, assistant conservator of forest (ACF) Ramesh Pradhan, Mujagad forest ranger Sudarshan Badi and Galeri forest ranger Bijay Mishra rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation.
Veterinarians Dr Subhranshu Sekhar Pattnaik and Dr Rakesh Pati conducted the post-mortem of the dead sheep and buried the carcasses.
While the villagers, forest officials and veterinarians wonder about the sheep deaths, the block administration has come forward to extend its help to the former.
The block administration has urged the people to construct pucca sheds for safety of their livestock and the state government will provide Rs 50,000 each to the beneficiaries in two phases.
Block development officer (BDO) Subrat Behera said financial assistance will be provided to the villagers if they evince interest for constructing pucca shed for their livestock. Over 150 sheds have been constructed this year in the block, he added.
Preliminary inquiries which evolved from the analysis of the pugmarks suggested several animals were involved in the attack on the sheep in the village.
When contacted, DFO Ramsami P said from the pugmarks it is believed that wolves might have killed the sheep.
Here, a majority of the people are accustomed to tie their livestock in open or house them in dilapidated shanties, making them prone to attacks by wild animals.
However, the villagers are clueless as to why the animals are sparing goats and attacking only sheep.
Moreover, the villagers are worried as the state government does not have any provision to award compensation for sheep death. PNN
