Poultry farms gripped by bird flu

At The Daily Star Roundtable on poultry sector organised on Sunday the dire strait the poultry industry finds itself in, has been depicted by the participants. Almost two-thirds of 1.5 lakh poultry farms have been closed down over the last two years due to poor surveillance and lack of compensation for culled fowls.

While a bird flu alert has been on for some time now, with 21 recorded cases and, reportedly, 1,02,348 fowls culled since January of this year, the exact extent of the threat is not known. Due to poor monitoring and surveillance of the livestock department caused by a shortage of staff in rural areas and fund constraints, the government does not have the actual number of affected fowls, so that the magnitude of the problem remains a gray area.

Recently, the government has taken some measures to tackle the situation. One has been the setting up of checkposts at entry points to the capital to prevent infected fowls from being brought in, culled if found and provisions for penalising culprits. A committee has also been formed to evaluate the situation -- the number of farms closed down, the amount of losses incurred, etc. -- and to make necessary recommendations to improve the situation.

Given the fact that the country was first hit by bird flu five years ago, we believe that by now the authorities should have been abreast of the situation and better prepared to mitigate the effects of the outbreak. We hope the government will lose no more time in doing the needful. Prompt and comprehensive research and investigation are necessary to judge the extent of the situation, followed by policy, laws and their implementation towards mitigating the effects of the outbreak.

Eradicate the threat of the bird flu virus to human beings we must but simultaneously we must cater for the special needs of the poultry sector. Comprehensive policy backup should be provided to the industry in order that shutdown farms are reopened while no more closures take place. Once self-sufficient in meeting domestic demand for protein like chicken and eggs we cannot let such an attainment go down the drain through lack of friendly policy support to the poultry sector.

Original News Here