Weirdest job in Mesopotamia

[Imperial Dave]

https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/the-ancient-mesopotamian-civilisations-weirdest-job-meet-the-veterinary-exorcist/

My kind of job...

[Jim Webster]

https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/the-ancient-mesopotamian-civilisations-weirdest-job-meet-the-veterinary-exorcist/

My kind of job...

Not sure I'd want to have anything to do with exorcising donkeys, gods alone know what might come out!

[stevenneate]

https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/the-ancient-mesopotamian-civilisations-weirdest-job-meet-the-veterinary-exorcist/

My kind of job...

This was my job when I worked at DEFRA or, at least, I believed it was. The incantations I had to recite to calm the livestock down and drive out the farm devils were essential for good animal husbandry.

[Imperial Dave]

 

[Nick Harbud]

What happened to the incantations during the last foot and mouth outbreak?

[stevenneate]

The incantations worked. Drove the devils out of the donkeys and straight into my cow familiars. Very Exorcist it was. Maybe the spells were at their  strongest when used on donkeys?

I had some involvement with F&M when I was working in the UK. It was more fun than a barrel of monkeys! The PM chose to ignore the Chief Vet's advice to halt cattle movement over the industry's advice to keep the outbreak secret. I was in top form and did my best Sir Humphrey and kept saying things like "I wouldn't do that...". We were referred to as the Chief Vet's doomsayers, but based on my Mesopotamian experience, I prefer soothsayers!

[Jim Webster]

pretty much what he said
The midden really hit the fan when sheep were gathered at the big export abattoirs for slaughter before being sent onto the continent. At this point the EU banned imports from the UK. The government had a choice. It could step in and provide a market for the meat, (which would have gone to hospitals, the military etc so it was more money being spent forward)
Or it could just tell people it wasn't a government problem and the sheep were all sent back home. After being pretty comprehensively mixed in the various lairages.