January 19, 2004

Thailand To Plan Live Chicken Routes To Slaughterhouses

Thailand will draw specific routes to control movements of live chicken from poultry farms to twenty slaughterhouses in eight provinces, Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob said.

This was the latest response to the chicken epidemic which he insisted had nothing to do with bird flu.

Livestock checkpoints would be set up every 25 kilometres and 50 kilometres from large poultry farms and at slaughter houses to disinfect chicken transporters.

"The aim is to contain the outbreak of fowl cholera and bronchitis and help poultry exporters, who need a large volume of chickens to meet increasing orders from overseas buyers,'' he said after an emergency meeting with livestock officials and poultry exporters.

The ministry earlier imposed a ban on chicken movements in a 50km radius, after the disease attacked more than 300 poultry farms in Nakhon Sawan, Suphan Buri, Chachoengsao, Nakon Nayok and Ang Thong provinces.

However, poultry exporters complained the tight ban hurt sales.

Under the new measure, farmers would be allowed to move chickens across provinces to slaughter houses or processing factories, but only by using the routes provided. They would also have to stop at checkpoints for spraying with disinfectant.

Livestock chief Yukol Limlaemthong said staff were still deciding the route, but it would skirt local communities. Agricultural officials would be based at 20 major slaughter houses in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Lop Buri, Sing Buri, Ubon Ratchathani, Chon Buri and Nakhon Pathom to inspect the chickens.

Poultry sampling would double to 10 head of every 100 chickens.

Mr Yukol said the plague was under control, with no further reports of infections over the weekend. That 30,000 chicken were infected with fowl cholera and bronchitis was nothing remarkable.

"However, the department had to slaughter as many as 847,000 birds because our epidemic control measures set high standards,'' he said.

Poultry farmers would get compensation of 40-100 baht for every dead chicken, depending on the bird's size and type. Some of the money would come from the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters' Association, which had set up an 180-million-baht fund to help the ministry cope with the outbreak.

Mr Newin said poultry being sold at markets was safe to eat. The ministry would provide an all-chicken lunch at tomorrow's cabinet meeting to show the public that chicken was safe.