The Supreme Court of India, has decided to hear the petition pertaining to the lumpy skin disease in cattle on October 31, 2022.
The matter was mentioned for an urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice U U Lalit today.
The counsel told the bench that the disease has spread among cattle and that it has taken lives of over 67,000 cows till date.
The bench, which also had Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice S R Bhat, said the matter would be listed for hearing on October 31.
Lumpy skin disease is a contagious viral infection which affects cattle and causes fever, nodules on the skin, which eventually leads to death. The disease is spread by mosquitoes, flies, lice, and wasps through direct contact among the cattle, and through contaminated food and water.
The disease has taken toll of 67,000 animals since its outbreak in July.It has spread in several states, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 12, said that the Centre and the states were trying to control the spread of the disease.
An indigenous vaccine has been developed for the lumpy skin disease, he said after inaugurating the International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit (IDF WDS) 2022.
The Delhi High Court , on September 28, had sought the response of the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to a plea seeking constitution of a team of veterinary doctors in each zone to deal with cases of lumpy skin disease in cattle and for setting up isolation wards for treatment of the infected animals.