It is not uncommon to find at slaughter loads of plastic material, chunks of mangled rope, shoes and other foreign materials inside the stomachs of animals, especially ruminants.
Cows and indeed other animals with mineral deficiencies have a tendency to eat/swallow all manner of things: bar soaps, clothes and bones. Many a time, milk-giving cows are abandoned too. The only food the cow gets to eat in the city is from garbage bins.
What happens most of the times is that humans tend to throw their waste in knotted plastic bags. As the cows are unable to open the bag, they eat the entire packet, which leads them to eating plastic.
It is normal to find, especially in urban areas, cattle, goats and pigs feeding in rubbish dumps where they pick up all these offensive stuff.
Plastic materials cannot be digested by the animal’s systems, including that of man. If the pieces of plastics are small, they may go through the system and passed out with the dung without incident.
However, if large and mangled, there are chances of interference with the proper functioning of the animals’ digestive system.
For anything to be eliminated from the body, it needs to be broken down by the digestive system. Unlike ours, the digestive system of a cow in complex. They have four stomachs. Whatever they consume has to go through the first stomach, then second to the third and fourth stomach to get eliminated.
This is where the problem arises. Nothing on earth can disintegrate a plastic bag. The plastic bag does not disintegrate as it gets stuck in the first, second, third or fourth stomach. It never gets out of the body and that is the problem.
While it is possible for a cow to live relatively normal life with these foreign stuff in the Rumen, problems come when the material obstructs the digestive system and interfere with the normal passage of Ingesta. The animal may not be able to feed properly, may suffer bouts of indigestion, constipation, breathing problems among others. In the long run, the animal will lose body condition and suffer loss of productivity. Like in the case of the whale, the cow may die.
The recent ban on plastics in Uganda, while ridding our environment of plastic wastes, will go a long way in reducing incidents of animals swallowing plastic materials and suffering the consequences.
There is no vaccination that will help keep your animal safe from ingesting plastic bags. Your animal will also not pass large plastic material through the waste.
Some are lucky though, to pass them out when consumed in smaller pieces. There are no drugs for destroying plastic bags while in the animals’ stomach.
If blockage is detected early, it is possible for a veterinarian to intervene surgically and remove the plastics, and other foreign materials including nails and other sharp objects.
Luckily, some people have successfully used laxatives like high quantities of mineral oils, given to the animal to help breakdown solid materials and smoothen plastic to increase chances of slippery passage. This on the other hand, could complicate Diarrhoea
There is, however, no guarantee of success with this method. The popular use of Magadi will not work. Please call your veterinarian to help out.
Contact Jaguza Support