Russia’s agricultural oversight agency blames government missteps and harsh weather for livestock disease outbreak

Russia’s agricultural oversight agency blamed a livestock disease outbreak in the Novosibirsk region on government missteps, an atypical strain of pasteurellosis, a bacterial infection, and harsh weather. The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, known as Rosselkhoznadzor, issued the explanation in response to a formal inquiry from Yuri Sinelshchikov, a Communist Party (KPRF) member of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, who had asked authorities t...