Poultry farmers on warpath in Alappuzha
They say suggestion to ban sale and transportation of birds in avian flu surveillance zones in district until March 2025 will destroy the sector and hit livelihood
Poultry farmers in Alappuzha have come out against the move to ban the sale and transportation of birds in avian flu surveillance zones in the district until March 2025.
An expert panel appointed by the Kerala government that studied the bird flu outbreak in Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts suggested the ban as a containment measure against the spread of the disease. It further recommended 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 suggested.
Poultry farmers said that introducing an eight-month ban on poultry farming in Alappuzha district and parts of Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts would destroy the sector.
Speaking to reporters in Alappuzha on Saturday, members of the Kerala Poultry Farmers Welfare Association said the report of the expert panel recommending a complete ban could not be accepted. They said that hundreds of people were making a living by raising duck, chicken, quail and pet birds in the region. A ban on poultry farming would impact the livelihood of numerous families. Besides it would adversely affect those working in the allied sectors, the association said.
Compensation sought
The association threatened to launch protests if the government went ahead and implemented the “anti-poultry farmer recommendations.” It urged the government to provide compensation to poultry farmers who suffered losses in the latest avian flu outbreak.
Duck raising practice
Besides recommending the ban, the expert panel, considering the possibility of disease transmission from migratory birds, recommended changing the practice of raising ducks in open fields and waterbodies in the Kuttanad region and to raise them in enclosures and farms. Instead of releasing ducks into fields for breeding, the economic feasibility of raising them in enclosures and farms should be studied in detail, and if found profitable, measures should be taken to implement it, the report said. The expert team also proposed that the number of ducks that could be accommodated in a panchayat area should be determined based on the land area of that local body.
The government has not yet acted on the report. Animal Husbandry Minister J. Chinchurani recently said the government would carefully consider the “practical implications” of the recommendations before taking necessary action.
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