Almost 30,000 cows have died in Camagüey, Cuba #Cows #Camagüey #Cuba
Almost 30,000 cows perished in Camagüey until the end of July, 4,000 more than in the same period in 2019 and most of them due to malnutrition.
According to the official Adelante, only in the first seven months of the year 29,407 cows perished, 58% from hunger, which represents 4,212 animals more than last year.
Although the government does not have the sufficient capacity to properly maintain and exploit livestock, it prefers to hoard and lose them as a drain on hunger or thirst than to let Cubans use their meat or trade it in their own way to earn enough to support the rest.
Cuban breeders face the strict control of the regime, which although it does not give them anything to feed them or for other care that the animals require, they demand their quota and do not allow them to trade with them or their products, such as milk.
Meanwhile, despite the huge amount of cattle on the island, beef is practically prohibited in the territory’s stores and markets and when it is offered, it is in foreign currency stores with extremely inaccessible prices and it is also imported .
Although Camagüey is one of the provinces with the highest volume of livestock in Cuba, it is going through a great crisis in both milk and meat production.
Of the 161,449 cows of reproductive age in the region, only 74,995 are being milked, which represents 46%.
On the other hand, of the total number of cows and heifers of reproductive age, only 34% are in the artificial insemination program.
On the other hand, in the peasant sector, which owns 80% of these animals, only 23% are currently inseminated, while the rest get pregnant with free riding, but in many cases the bulls do not have good genetic conditions, also due to their bad nutrition.
Camagüeyan cattle farmers “owe” more than 13 million liters of milk to the industry so far, because after two years in which they have averaged approximately 90 million liters, this year they barely reach 75 million from an initial commitment of 88 millions.
The poor infrastructure of the Cuban food industry makes livestock farmers dependent on weather conditions, since cattle only eat grass, so in times of drought they run out of water and food, while hunger also affects them in case of storms.
This year’s drought has wreaked havoc on livestock, because if one of these animals stops drinking water for 24 hours it loses 10% of its body mass and after 72 hours its situation is classified as “impoverished”.
Of the 13 municipalities of Camagüey, only Sierra de Cubitas and Céspedes meet the agreed figures, while Guáimaro, Sibanicú, Jimaguayú and Camagüey are the most lagging behind.
Courtesy of periodicocubano.com
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