16,000 chickens culled, 46,740 eggs destroyed in two months
Monday, 2 January 2012
Arafat Ara
The authorities culled nearly 16,000 chickens and destroyed 46,740 eggs in the past two months as the avian influenza has started returning at the onset of winter, said officials.
According to the Department of Livestock Services control room around 2,768 chickens were culled in December and 12,762 in November in five poultry farms located in Manikganj, Rajbarbi, Khulna, Bagerhat and Meherpur districts during the season.
But poultry farmers sharply differed with the government's official data and claimed, the number of birds destroyed was hundred times more compared to the control room statistics.
Bangladesh Poultry Industries' Association (BPIA) joint secretary general Khandoker Mohsin said a minimum of 2,500 farms have been closed down during the last two months.
"But unfortunately the government figures showed that only five farms were affected," he said
He said the avian influenza was spreading gradually. But there were no initiative from the government to protect the sector.
He mentioned that a large number of the farms have been affected by the bird flu this season. "But the farmers cannot always identify the disease".
The virus is very difficult to diagnose, as the symptom of the flu is similar to other diseases like ranikhet, bronchitis, mico plasma, etc., he added.
"The government needs to roll up its sleeve and help the affected farms with compensation and vaccines in an effort to prevent avian influenza from inflicting heavy damage to the key industry," the BPIA secretary said.
"If the government does not take safety measures to prevent the disease and provide adequate compensation, the sector will not survive in future," he said.
Department of Livestock Services Director Dr Musaddique Hossain said for preventing the disease the department has already taken up various initiatives.
"We have taken awareness creating programme among the poultry farm owners in every division and trained them to prevent the chicken to remain free from the flu," he said.
Bird flu or H5N1 virus first broke out in the country in 2007 when more than a million chickens were culled and tens of thousands of small farms were closed as the flu ravaged the industry for more than six months.
The authorities culled nearly 16,000 chickens and destroyed 46,740 eggs in the past two months as the avian influenza has started returning at the onset of winter, said officials.
According to the Department of Livestock Services control room around 2,768 chickens were culled in December and 12,762 in November in five poultry farms located in Manikganj, Rajbarbi, Khulna, Bagerhat and Meherpur districts during the season.
But poultry farmers sharply differed with the government's official data and claimed, the number of birds destroyed was hundred times more compared to the control room statistics.
Bangladesh Poultry Industries' Association (BPIA) joint secretary general Khandoker Mohsin said a minimum of 2,500 farms have been closed down during the last two months.
"But unfortunately the government figures showed that only five farms were affected," he said
He said the avian influenza was spreading gradually. But there were no initiative from the government to protect the sector.
He mentioned that a large number of the farms have been affected by the bird flu this season. "But the farmers cannot always identify the disease".
The virus is very difficult to diagnose, as the symptom of the flu is similar to other diseases like ranikhet, bronchitis, mico plasma, etc., he added.
"The government needs to roll up its sleeve and help the affected farms with compensation and vaccines in an effort to prevent avian influenza from inflicting heavy damage to the key industry," the BPIA secretary said.
"If the government does not take safety measures to prevent the disease and provide adequate compensation, the sector will not survive in future," he said.
Department of Livestock Services Director Dr Musaddique Hossain said for preventing the disease the department has already taken up various initiatives.
"We have taken awareness creating programme among the poultry farm owners in every division and trained them to prevent the chicken to remain free from the flu," he said.
Bird flu or H5N1 virus first broke out in the country in 2007 when more than a million chickens were culled and tens of thousands of small farms were closed as the flu ravaged the industry for more than six months.