Vote for song
Merge 104.8 | 15 June 2020
At least 50 kgs of plastic waste have been extracted from the belly of a camel by a veterinarian in Dhofar.
Speaking to Merge 104.8’s sister station Al Wisal, veterinarian Husam Al Deen Al Rafai, General Manager of Al Sham Veterinary Clinic and Al Sham Veterinary Centre said that he found inedible items in the sick camel’s stomach, such as plastic bags, cans, and newspapers.
He said that such waste could lead to death if action is not taken to protect the environment and the animals who may digest these products.
Al Rafai said that he has performed similar operations on other camels that had even higher quantities of hazardous waste in their bodies.
He explained that a camel shows a number of symptoms when it swallows and ingests such amounts of waste.
“You can notice a reduction in [the animal’s] weight, dryness, loss of appetite, and disfunction of the digestive system,” Al Rafai stated, adding that the 50 kg of waste was most likely accumulated over three khareef seasons in Dhofar Governorate.
Explaining that, during grazing season, camels eat from plains and fields where tourists sometimes throw waste, Dr. Al Rafai calls upon tourists and residents in Dhofar to take responsibility for waste in the environment and make sure they leave no plastic or litter behind.
