Contrary to a news report about an out-of-court deal between the Sindh government and importer of Australian sheep, the culling of imported animals started again in the city. Hundreds sheep were culled after the process began early Friday morning.
"There is no chance of a deal on the issue of infected sheep. All animals would be culled through Halal and merciful practices," said an officials on condition of anonymity. According to sources, the culling process was earlier stopped by a stay issued by the Sindh High Court.
After a lengthy debate spanning several weeks, lab tests and judicial activity, the imported animals would now meet their fate at the Razzaqabad farm house where they were kept for more than a month. The process is supervised by the staff of the Deputy Commissioner, Malir, and 200 men from the Razzakabad Polcie Traning Centre have been deployed for security.
Some officials claimed that the importer had been assured that he would be allowed to slaughter the animal and export the meat, persuading him to withdraw the court case. However, sources at the livestock department denied this assertion, saying that there was no pre-condition for any out-of-court settlement. Neither the importer nor officials of the Sindh Livestock Department were available for comments.
The culling was halted last month after the court granted a stay order after 7,600 of the animals had already been killed for being "infected". According to sources, around 1,500 of the existing 11,300 sheep were killed by Friday evening. It would take two or three days to complete the process, sources said.
Surprisingly, Australian High Commissioner Peter Heyward on Thursday issued a statement, welcoming a settlement, which he claimed would allow the Australian sheep to be processed. Earlier, the petitioner, who purchased a consignment of 21,000 Australian sheep rejected by the Bahrain government in August, contended that the animals were healthy.
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