Foot and Mouth Disease in Indonesia Could Affect Eid Festival
2022-07-10
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1An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia is threatening to disrupt the country's Eid al-Adha festival.
2The festival happens during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
3It celebrates the Prophet Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son.
4Muslims often mark the holiday by killing sheep, cattle or goats.
5Some of the animal meat is given to the poor.
6Foot and mouth disease, which sickens animals, is a big threat to agriculture and food producers.
7This year, the Eid al-Adha holiday falls on July 9.
8But, animal traders have reported lower sales this year because of the presence of foot and mouth disease.
9The disease can spread quickly among animals including cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.
10While it can be deadly for animals, foot and mouth is not generally considered a threat to human health.
11"This year is a year of loss for us," said Jamal Lulay, a trader in West Java.
12He told Reuters news agency he had only sold 50 cows this year.
13"Before COVID, we could sell up to 330 cows, and during COVID it was around 170... This year sales have dropped drastically."
14Indonesia launched a nationwide animal vaccination program in an attempt to limit the outbreak, which began in May.
15More than 317,000 animals have been infected in 21 Indonesian provinces.
16Government records show that more than 3,400 animals had been killed in an effort to contain disease spread.
17Muhammad Husein al Bana is a livestock trader in Jakarta.
18He told Reuters, "People's enthusiasm for sacrifice has not been diminished, but they are more worried about the health (of the animals)."
19Until the last outbreak, Indonesia had been free of foot and mouth disease since 1986.
20Iskandar Saputra is a Jakarta buyer who said he is still willing to take the risk.
21"Ultimately it is the consumer's decision," he said.
22But he added, "I think the cows sold here are safe and healthy."
23I'm Bryan Lynn.
1An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia is threatening to disrupt the country's Eid al-Adha festival. 2The festival happens during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. It celebrates the Prophet Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son. Muslims often mark the holiday by killing sheep, cattle or goats. Some of the animal meat is given to the poor. 3Foot and mouth disease, which sickens animals, is a big threat to agriculture and food producers. 4This year, the Eid al-Adha holiday falls on July 9. But, animal traders have reported lower sales this year because of the presence of foot and mouth disease. 5The disease can spread quickly among animals including cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. While it can be deadly for animals, foot and mouth is not generally considered a threat to human health. 6"This year is a year of loss for us," said Jamal Lulay, a trader in West Java. He told Reuters news agency he had only sold 50 cows this year. "Before COVID, we could sell up to 330 cows, and during COVID it was around 170... This year sales have dropped drastically." 7Indonesia launched a nationwide animal vaccination program in an attempt to limit the outbreak, which began in May. 8More than 317,000 animals have been infected in 21 Indonesian provinces. Government records show that more than 3,400 animals had been killed in an effort to contain disease spread. 9Muhammad Husein al Bana is a livestock trader in Jakarta. He told Reuters, "People's enthusiasm for sacrifice has not been diminished, but they are more worried about the health (of the animals)." 10Until the last outbreak, Indonesia had been free of foot and mouth disease since 1986. 11Iskandar Saputra is a Jakarta buyer who said he is still willing to take the risk. "Ultimately it is the consumer's decision," he said. But he added, "I think the cows sold here are safe and healthy." 12I'm Bryan Lynn. 13Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 14______________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16disrupt - v. to interfere with a normal activity 17drastic - adj. extreme or severe in effect or action 18enthusiasm - n. strong excitement about something 19diminish - v. to become or cause something to become less in size, importance or some other quality 20ultimately - adv. at the end of a process, period of time or at something's most basic level 21consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services 22_____________________________________________________________ 23What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 24Write your comment in the box. 25Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 26Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.