Emurua-Dikir MP Johanna Ngeno on Saturday lost 24 Holstein Friesian cattle worth Sh2.5 million after feeding on an Ireland imported mineral product.
According to Olekisiara farm manager Fredrick Mutai, the cows started dropping one after the other shortly after feeding on the animal product.
“The cows began shivering, foaming in the mouth and running wild before dropping dead one after the other five minutes after minerals salt,” he said.
The workers called a veterinary doctor but it was too late.
“We immediately called a veterinary doctor who came and injected the animals in an efforts to save them, but there was little he could do,” he continued.
Mutai’s co-worker Luke Evans, said that it was their first time to use the product. He also noted that they consulted before feeding it to the herd.
“We followed keenly the instructions given by the product supplier. He told us the ration for each cow is 200 grammes per day mixed with other general animals feeds. That is what exactly what we did,” he said.
The products had a January 28, 2022 expiry date.
Mr Mutai also stated that the cows that did not feed on the mineral were not affected.
“There is no doubt that the product is to blame for the death of the cows,” he added.
The legislator who purchased the product in bulk asked the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) to ensure imported products are safe.
“It’s very devastating for a farmer to lose even a single cow due to the failure by Kenya Bureau of Standards to block the importation of poisonous cattle feeds and other products,” Ngeno said.
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