Bird flu in India
- From: " Jill" <newsNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2006 17:45:06 -0000
FARMERS BURY DEAD BIRDS, REPLACE STOCK; AUTHORITIES REMAIN IN THE DARK
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=170923
500 poultry farms, but no regulation
Express News Service
Ahmedabad, February 22: A MONTH before bird flu was reported from Navapur,
poultry farmers and wholesale dealers in South Gujarat knew that birds were
dying by the hundreds every day there.
However, no one thought of reporting it to the authorities. In the absence
of a proper regulatory authority for poultries, there is no way officials
would come to know what is happening at poultry farms. Farmers would just
bury dead birds, quarantine, wash and disinfect the cages, and get back to
work in a couple of days.
In Gujarat, where there are more than 500 poultry farms, the rules and
regulations are clear but only on paper.
''It happens at poultry farms. Birds start dying suddenly due to some
infection. We cannot do anything except sit and watch them die in minutes.
We isolate the cages and bury the birds in deep pits in the backyards. After
properly disinfecting the cages we start again,'' says Nathubhai Patel of
Susheel Poultry Farm near Bardoli.
When asked if mass deaths are reported, Patel - whose son Yogeshbhai Patel
is the chairman of the losely formed group of South Gujarat Poultry Farmers
Association - says: ''What will they come and do? We know what precautions
to take... we can handle it.''
As authorities do not even come to know of bird deaths, there is no way of
finding out what caused the deaths because post-mortems are not performed.
Nayeem Kinariwala, who has poultry farms in Surat and Olpad, says the life
of broiler birds is so short that there is no point in wasting time over
formalities. ''Broiler birds have a life of 30 to 35 days, then they are
ready for slaughter. In between, if for some reason they die, we just bury
them and replace the stock. Only in case of layer birds - which have a life
of 70 weeks - consultants or veterinarians are called in.
These people usually belong to hatcheries from where the chickens were
bought,'' says Kinariwala.
While poultry farmers do vaccinate chicks against 'ranikhet' and 'gambaro'
diseases, according to Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry Dr D P Amin,
there are a number of diseases and viral infections due to which birds die
in farms.
''If the birds are buried, we would not know how many died and of what.
If the case is reported, we visit the site and make sure the dead birds are
disinfected before being buried properly. Our supervisors visit farms
regularly, make suggestions and send official notes,'' Dr Amin says.
Poultry farmers are also known to cut corners by keeping too many birds in a
restricted space against rules of providing three sq feet space per bird.
This causes infections to spread faster increasing mortality rate.
In fact, hatcheries give two per cent chicks free against the total order
placed by poultry farmers as a reimbursement for chicks dying of infections
before they are vaccinated or, due to transportation fatigue.
Dr D Shirmaliya, Animal Husbandry (Poultry), says farmers usually take all
precautions and sometimes even report deaths if the number is alarming.
''But you never know with small or poor farmers who cut corners to stay in
the business.
If birds are dying in farms due to a certain infection, especially in the
winters, and they are not reported, it takes sometime before we come to know
and initiate action,'' Dr Shrimaliya says.
--
regards
Jill Bowis
Pure bred utility chickens and ducks
Housing; Equipment, Books, Videos, Gifts
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