Pork - Beef - Mutton Still Available In Gampaha

Denying widespread media reports on the “blanket ban” on slaughtering of cattle, pigs, and goats in the Gampaha district due to FMD fears, Health authorities today said vendors can still sell pork, beef and mutton in the District on the grounds that the meat is transported from other districts.

 Speaking to ‘Asian Mirror’, Upul Rohana, President of the Public Health Inspectors Association said vendors in the Gampaha district can still sell meat with a certification from the PHI in the area“The only condition is that the meat has to be transported from another district,” he added.

He also said that Gampaha has been identified as a high risk area for Hoof and Mouth Disease while asserting that there was no religious sentiment whatsoever behind the ban.  

 Earlier, stalls of beef, mutton and pork were closed in seven districts namely Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Ampara, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura and Puttalam, following the spread of the disease among the cattle in those areas.