Commonly Encountered Ailments in Working Bullocks in Western Maharashtra, India
Aim- The aim of present study was to determine the common diseases encountered by Animal Rahat teams in working bullocks in Western Maharashtra, India and also emphasize on diseases of higher prevalence encountered in more numbers during hard working season viz. sugarcane crushing season. This is based on analysis of Animal Rahat ‘streatment data of five years which is from April, 2015 to March, 2020.Animal Rahat, an animal welfare organization provides free treatment services to working bullocks in180 villages and 26sugar factories of Western Maharashtra i.e. in Solapur, Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur districts. Every year’s thousands of animals are being treated for various ailments and these treatment data’s are recorded in specified treatment register and on monthly basis these treatment data’s are converted to soft and analysed. Treatment data of five years i.e. from April 2015 to March 2020 were collated and analysed. Analysis of data revealed that prevalence of lameness is highest in working bullocks which is 32-36 % of total affected animals which are reported every year and number of animals affected with lameness increases during the sugar cane crushing season (November to April/May) every year. Other ailments are; 25-28 % wound cases, 17-23 % digestive disorders, 5-7 % ophthalmological disorders, 4-7 % yoke gall cases and 2-5% respiratory disorders, different type of swelling sand pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) cases out of total affected animals reported. Working bullocks suffer with many diseases, most commonly with musculoskeletal problems which also increases during hard working season. Over work, over load, inadequate & inappropriate feeding, ignorance, unawareness, use of sharp nails to prevent bullocks from balancing their loads and greediness are the main cause of ailments in working bullocks.
