22 animals dead in UP after overeating millet fodder

Twenty-two head of cattle died allegedly due to nitrate poisoning after overeating green millet fodder in a government-run cow shelter here, the district administration said on Monday.

Two caretakers of the 'gaushala' have been taken into custody for questioning and the fodder, which was brought from Kasganj, has been sent for testing, District Magistrate Dinesh Kumar Singh said.

The DM said the man who sold the fodder to the cow shelter was also being questioned.

The animals, including 11 cows, died on Sunday night one after the other in the temporary 'gaushala' run by the Kachchla Nagar Panchayat, Singh said.

The DM, SSP and teams of veterinary doctors rushed to the shelter and gave treatment to 54 animals, it said.

A team of Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, that conducted the post-mortem examination, in its preliminary report said nitrate poisoning due to overeating of green fodder could be the cause behind the deaths.