Two herders from the Dukana ward in the North Horr constituency are counting their losses after 93 goats died on Tuesday after drinking contaminated water.
This is yet another statistic following a similar incident in January 2019 at a local water point in Maikona that resulted in the death of 37 camels.
Over 6,500 animals died of nitrate poisoning in Kargi and Laisamis 23 years ago, according to the county’s records.
Mr. Hussein Ali, county executive committee member for Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, confirmed the incident and stated that the shallow well has been ordered closed while investigations are conducted.
The department also sent officers to take water and blood samples and recommended immediate laboratory testing.
“We received the sad report and immediately dispatched our field officers with directive to urgently close the water point and the samples to Nairobi for analysis”
The livestock department is also planning for sensitization forums for the locals on the dangers of unused water points especially for the livestock.
According to Dr. Halkano Arero, Chief Officer for Livestock and Veterinary Services, areas such as El-hadi, Sabare, Bales-Saru, and Dukana are at high risk of animals consuming contaminated water.
Dr. Arero told Citizen Digital that the risk associated with those areas was informed by previous history reports.
“Even though, the results are yet out, but based on the previous documentation, we highly suspect a case of high nitrite content in the water bodies”
The chief officer added, “We also advise the residents not to take their animals to any water point not in use for a long period of time to deter further deaths”
The two herders; Bante Duba and Molu Duba, have called on local non-governmental organizations, the county and the national government to help them.
“We depend on these animals for survival and we are still in shock as we stare at the carcasses before us. We cry to the two governments and NGOs to help us overcome this loss”
Elevated nitrate levels in drinking water are often caused by groundwater contamination from animal waste run-off and feedlots, use of fertilizers, or human sewage from public or private septic systems.
When animals consume high levels of contaminated water, they interfere with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to the cells and the animals die from a sort of internal suffocation.
In 2009, an inter-ministerial taskforce formed to investigate causes of sporadic livestock deaths in Marsabit recommended that locals living in desert areas should not consume surface water as water from the available shallow wells did not meet safety standard as residents petitioned the High Court through Kituo Cha Sheria in 2020 to compel the government to act urgently.
