Goats being evacuated from the Kanlaon Volcano danger zone.*
The mass evacuation of farm animals located within the 6-kilometer Expanded Danger Zone (EDZ) of La Castellana, Negros Occidental, was conducted during the weekend amid fears of another Kanlaon Volcano eruption and lahar flow.
They were evacuated to an animal shelter in La Carlota City so their owners would not keep returning to check on their livestock in the danger zone, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Sunday, Dec. 15.
The eruption has also damaged P27,182,102 worth of high value crops, rice and fisheries in La Castellana and La Carlota City, Diaz said.
A provincial government report said 940 farm animals, which included carabaos, cattle, goats and chickens, were rescued and evacuated during the weekend.
Some residents sold their farms animals at low prices because buyers were taking advantage of the situation, La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Nicor Mangilimutan said Sunday.
The mayor said she is appealing to buyers to buy at fair prices and not to take advantage of the situation.
There were also 26,006 farm animals, including pets, affected by volcanic ash and sulfuric fumes suffering from weakness, respiratory and digestive diseases, and skin and eye irritation, the Provincial Veterinary Office reported.*