The provincial office of the Department of Environment in Tehran has restricted the entry of livestock into Lar National Park for grazing to control the spread of communicable diseases among animals.
Based on the new rule, cattle breeders and shepherds must acquire a permit from DOE and prove their livestock has been vaccinated before they can be allowed in the protected area, YJC reported.
Also, the number of cattle they intend to graze has to correspond with the number mentioned in the permit.
Those failing to conform to the above-mentioned criteria will be banned from entering the park by rangers and violators will face legal action.
Mohammad Karami, director of the Wildlife Office at the provincial DOE office, said the aim was to prevent the transmission of infectious illnesses such as foot-and-mouth disease or peste des petits ruminants from livestock to wild animals and vice versa.
“Domestic animals can easily spread an illness, as they roam across various regions,” said Karami.
Entry of livestock into the national park, which is located in northern Tehran, was delayed due to the spread of FMD and PPR among Tehran’s wildlife in Sorkheh Hesar and Khojir national parks in eastern Tehran, forcing officials to vaccinate cattle before they can be allowed to graze in Lar. Normally, the national park opens its doors to livestock from May 4 every year.
Ovine rinderpest is a contagious disease affecting small ruminants such as goats and sheep, and has an 80% mortality rate in severe cases. Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects domestic and wild cloven-hoofed animals.
