22 Nov 2017

Fiji govt launches campaign against stray animals

1:59 pm on 22 November 2017

The Fiji government has allocated more than $US937,000 to solve the problem of stray animals, which it says poses a major threat to farming communities there.

Fiji Minister Viam Pillay

Fiji Minister Viam Pillay Photo: suppled

The Assistant Agriculture Minister, Viam Pillay, said his Ministry was treating the issue seriously and had a separate budget allocation to address the problem, which could include drastic action to reduce the number of strays.

Mr Pillay said the money would be used to build animal pounds in three divisions and purchase a portable pen.

He said farmers in the Western Division also needed to take better responsibility for their animals.

Mr Pillay said most of the animals that caused problems were actually owned by someone but when damage is done, nobody wants to take ownership of them.