June 2, 2004

 

 

Thai Poultry Farmers Call For Bird Flu Compensation
 

More than 200 chicken farmers yesterday threatened to stage a major protest in July if the government fails to fully compensate them for the fowls they were forced to cull during the bird flu crisis.

 

The government has been given a payment deadline of June 30.

 

The protesters from Suphan Buri submitted their demand at Government House. It was addressed to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

"We want the government to urgently solve problems facing us," said Kwanchai Krienguppatham, one of the protest leaders.

 

He added that he would mobilise chicken farmers from across the country for the major protest next month if the government continued to ignore their suffering.

 

Kwanchai said farmers had lost their "layers'' in January's mass cull.

 

The Agriculture Ministry at the time promised compensation for damages plus Bt40 recompense per bird culled.

 

"So far, we've got only the Bt40 part without compensation for damages from the layers being killed," Kwanchai said.

 

He said chicken farmers had lost their livelihoods and still had debts.

 

"Each layer costs Bt140 in the market now. We want to know how the government will compensate us," he said.

 

Another protest leader, Saipin Pitakwong, said chicken farmers were suffering with no way out.

 

"We are like cornered dogs ready to bite anyone," she said.

 

Kwanchai said compensation would provide the farmers with the money needed to improve their farms to guard against any possible bird flu outbreak.

 

"If we can operate again, the prices of eggs and chicken will climb down as the supply will grow to meet the demand. Now, eggs and chicken are expensive," he added.

 

Meanwhile Pittaya Srumsiri, dean of Chiang Mai University's Agriculture faculty, denied a report that more than 1,000 fowls at the university's research farm became infected with bird flu and had to be destroyed last month in an attempt to develop a vaccine for the disease.

 

Pittaya said his faculty sent samples of migratory birds from Siberia, which were near the research farm when the infections erupted, to a laboratory to test if they were infected.

 

Chiang Mai livestock chief Thira Ananworapanya said the result should be available this week.

 

Yukol Limlamthong, directorgeneral of the Livestock Development Department, said the department was planning to conduct birdflu tests at all farms next month.

 

It would also check if any farmer had illegally used the bird flu vaccine.

 

The Food and Drug Administration has banned the bird flu vaccine. Offenders are liable to both a jail term and a fine.

 

The World Organisation for Animal Health has banned countries using the bird flu vaccine from exporting poultry.