Cangkringan – Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of UGM and the Department of Agriculture of Province of Yogyakarta Special Region burned hundreds of carcasses of cattle owned by residents of Srunen hamlet, Glagaharjo Village, Cangkringan, Sleman regency. The cattled were killed by heat clouds. The location in the vicinity was also sprayed with disinfectant by a team of volunteers. Chief of UGM veterinary medical aid, Prof. Dr. drh. Ida Tjahajati, M.S, said the burning of carcasses was conducted to prevent from an outbreak that might emerge. The dead cattles also smell bad. "Therefore, we spray all these carcasses to kill the bacteria and speed up the process of decaying." said Ida Tjahajati in Srunen on Monday (22/11).
According to this UGM Professor, carcasses may become a source of disease with the commencement of germs and bacteria which can occasionally transmit to humans. "We are concerned that diseases can be transmitted to humans, which is called as zoonosis," she explained.
She mentioned that the carcasses that have been burned excluded other livestocks such as goats, chickens and others that died due to heat clouds. Meanwhile, the data showed that in Sleman there are at least 2079 dead cattles.
Similarly, Chief of Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health Section, Department of Agriculture of Yogyakarta, Drh. Haris Handono stated that the burning of animal carcasses is conducted to prevent from diseases caused by carcasses. "We anticipate against the impact that can affect the public health if not handled properly," he explained. To conduct the livestock burning was not easy due to the difficult access to the site as there are many fallen trees blocking the driveway. "Not to mention that we must always be vigilant, at any time the danger signs of Merapi can be heard," he said.
Suyono (30), a resident from Srunen, admitted that he deliberately set fire to two of his own livestock carcasses because he could not stand the odor. But he could only burn 2 cows from 6 cows of his. "The rest are still at the stall as it is difficult to get them out. If we burn them in the cage, we are afraid the cage will also get burned," said the father of one child.
This man said in a low voice that he had no property left now except the clothes he was wearing. Nevertheless, he felt grateful that all of his family members can survive the eruption of Merapi that hit their village on Friday, November 5. "Now I do look like a desperate person, what remains is only the clothes I am wearing," he said.
Srunen people mostly work as dairy farmers. Not surprisingly, the most valuable asset is their livestock as source of livelihood. Every morning they could get money from the milk that they sold to the nearest cooperative. Now, they have no more assets. Besides, their badly damaged houses are not suitable to be re-occupied. They do not know when they can rebuild the house.
"We are waiting for the time when we could stay in the temporary housing. It is impossible to live in the refugee camps forever, the conditions are all difficult there," he said with tears in his eyes.
Together with one of his younger brother, Suyono were cleaning the debris from his collapsed house. His hand was holding a bottle of water. Slightly shaking, he watched his cattles get burned in front of him. Burning the cattle that had already become part of his life must be heart breaking for him to do by himself.