July 19, 2024

Kerala, India, considers report that suggests ban on poultry farming in Alappuzha

The government of Kerala, India, is considering an expert panel report that has recommended a ban on poultry farming in Alappuzha until March 2025 as a containment measure against the spread of bird flu, said Animal Husbandry Minister J. Chinchurani.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Union Animal Husbandry Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh in New Delhi on July 15, Chinchurani said restrictions on duck and chicken farming, among other poultry activities, were needed until the disease was brought under control. The minister added that the government had held discussions with poultry farmers on the matter.

Chinchurani also informed the Union Minister of the need to vaccinate ducks and chickens in Kuttanad and surrounding areas against bird flu.

Additionally, she said setting up a BSL-3 laboratory at Palode in Thiruvananthapuram to test suspected bird flu samples had been taken up with the Union government.

An expert panel appointed to study the bird flu outbreak in Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta districts had recommended banning the sale and transportation of birds in surveillance zones in the bird flu-affected districts until the end of March 2025 for disease control and to prevent future avian flu outbreaks.

It further suggested that no new ducks or chickens should be restocked in districts affected by the disease until March 2025. Hatcheries in surveillance zones, including in government farms, should be closed until March 2025, the report recommended.

- The Hindu