February 5, 2025

More than five million chickens, other birds put down in January due to bird flu

Since the beginning of 2025, avian influenza has been spreading rapidly throughout Japan.

The situation has reached a level of serious concern, with 5.4 million chickens and other birds culled in January alone.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, there have been 43 avian flu outbreaks during the season of FY2024 as of January 24, second only to FY2022, which is the highest number ever recorded. However, in terms of the number of birds culled, January 2025 outpaces January 2023, when 4.6 million birds in total were culled.

As of January 22, MAFF had set up local task forces in Chiba, Aichi, and Iwate Prefectures to bolster efforts to counter the spread of infection.

Chiba Prefecture had the largest number of egg-laying hens in Japan, at 11.2 million (as of 2024), of which around 2.5 million have been culled (as of January 24).

- nippon.com