Hundreds of cow carcasses reportedly burned near Moscow after disease outbreak

About 800 cow carcasses from the Rusmilk farm, the site of a lumpy skin disease outbreak, were reportedly burned overnight into November 6 in the Kolomna urban district of the Moscow region. The information comes from Telegram channels; the source gives no official confirmation. Lumpy skin disease is a contagious cattle illness, and Russia's Agriculture and Food Ministry imposed a quarantine in the Kolomna district in late October.

Burn site changed

The Telegram channel Govorit NeMoskva reported that the carcasses were first scheduled to be burned overnight on October 31 near the village of Gornostayevo. Local residents objected, and the location was changed, though it was not disclosed where the burning would take place instead.

Overnight on November 6, the carcasses and hundreds of car tires were brought to the village of Nepetsino, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Gornostayevo. In the morning, the Telegram channel Baza, which is linked to Russian security services, reported that the carcasses had been burned less than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the village of Semyonovskoye in the same district. Residents told Baza they had seen wooden pallets and hundreds of tires there shortly before the burning.

Baza soon deleted its post. The Telegram channel Msk1 said the livestock were burned in a field near Nepetsino, where several hundred tires had been delivered beforehand. Residents said district administration officials had assured them that cattle would not be burned this way in the district.

Earlier cases

Baza reported that the decision to destroy the carcasses followed the outbreak at Rusmilk. Meduza notes that a recent high-profile case of mass livestock slaughter took place in the Novosibirsk region, linked to a "dangerous disease" that residents and farmers suspected was foot-and-mouth disease; authorities did not confirm this. Owners actively protested the seizure and slaughter of their animals, but it led nowhere. Residents of the Irkutsk region later complained about livestock seizures, with lumpy skin disease cited as the reason.