Some of the sheep imported from Australia were found infected with “orf” and hence the shipment was rejected by Bahrain government. According to a letter sent by Pakistan embassy in Bahrain to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding the Australian sheep, a copy of which is available with Business Recorder, has confirmed that the animal which latter moved towards Pakistan were infected with the disease.
The letter sent by Ambassador Jauhar Saleem said,” On my instructions my deputy called on Bahraini Assistant Under-secretary of Agricultural Affairs since the under-secretary is on a visit abroad, on our specific queries the assistant secretary informed the following:
1) 22,000 sheep were imported as per the consignment in question.
2) As per the existing practice in Bahrain, for live and frozen imported livestock, the shipment was inspected prior to offloading and was thus not offloaded.
3) Some of the sheep were found to be infected with “orf disease” and therefore the shipment was rejected and returned.
4) Any medical reports/findings could be shared with us only on return of the under-secretary from a foreign country visit who is expected back on October 17, 2012.”
