KESENNUMA —
Agriculture officials said Sunday they plan to send a team of veterinarians into the evacuation zone around the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to check on hundreds of thousands of abandoned cows, pigs and chickens, many of which are believed to have died of starvation and neglect.
The government is considering euthanizing some of the dying animals, officials said.
Farmers in the area were estimated to have left 3,000 cows, 130,000 pigs and 680,000 chickens behind when they hurriedly fled the area last month when the nuclear crisis started.
With no time for burials, veterinarians who find dead livestock will spray lime over them to prevent them from spreading disease, agricultural officials said.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/team-of-vets-to-enter-evacuation-zone-to-deal-with-abandoned-animals