Plagues, Pestilences and Diseases
British troops blamed for 'badger' plague
By Graeme Baker
Last Updated: 2:45am BST 12/07/2007
British
forces in the Iraqi city of Basra are being blamed for a plague of
vicious badger-like creatures which have attacked livestock – and even
humans.
Farmers have killed several ratels – desert
carnivores that prey on
cobras – with locals saying their arrival coincided with that of
British soldiers.
British authorities – who are
routinely blamed for many of the ills that befall Basrawis – have
attempted to calm fears following reports of attacks, but to little
effect.
"I was sleeping when this strange animal
hit me on my head," said Suad Hassan, a 30-year-old housewife. "My
husband hurried to shoot it but it was as swift as a deer."
Sattar Jabbar, a 50-year-old farmer from north of
Basra said: "I saw it
at night attacking animals. It even ate a cow. It tore the cow up piece
by piece," he said.
"This animal appeared following a raid to the region
by the British
forces," said Ali Mohsen, who farms near a British air base. "They
probably released this animal into the area."
Videos
reported to be circulating in the city show a stocky skunk-like animal
with long front claws stalking the streets, while footage of a farmer
holding one of the dead beasts has been posted on the video-sharing
website, YouTube.
However, Mushtaq Abdul-Mahdi, director of Basra's
veterinary hospital, said that the animals have been in Iraq for
decades.
"They are known locally as al-Girta," he said. "Talk
that this animal was brought by the British forces is incorrect."
British
Army spokesman Major David Gell said the animals were thought to be a
kind of honey badger – melivora capensis – which weigh up to 30lb but
are usually only dangerous to humans if provoked.
"They
are native to the region but rare in Iraq. They're nocturnal carnivores
with a fearsome reputation, but they don't stalk humans and carry them
back to their lair," he said.
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