What would happen to the thousands of animals from nearby farms if Turrialba volcano’s activity worsens? The truth is that the country is not ready for a mass evacuation of animals.
Felipe Arguedas, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), admits the government has no capacity for mass evacuation, which is not ideal either because
There is dairy cattle there and if they’re not milked, they get sick and can infect other areas.”
Ashes cause respiratory problems in cows and damage the soil due to its acidity.
Arguedas said
since 2010, the MAG promoted the construction of greenhouses, where animals are safe from the ashes (…) but it is difficult to forecast the impact because the wind direction changes every day and the ash can reach different places.”
The CNE has invested 19 billion colones to alleviate the emergency. Most of the budget was spent on buying bronchodilators to combat respiratory disease on cattle.