Over-use and misuse of antibiotics in livestock is hampering the ability for pastoralists in Garissa County to export their animals to foreign markets.
Speaking during a stakeholder’s sensitization workshop, Issa Yarrow the Garissa County Executive member for Agriculture revealed importers from the Middle East were shying away from purchasing beef and live animals from the county after a basic survey of sample animals from the county revealed high levels of veterinary drug residues way more than regulatory limits stipulated.
Around the county, driven by a growing demand for foods of animal origin, food-producing animals such as cattle and goats are given antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals.