Border check posts being monitored to prevent spread of bird flu into Nilgiris

Eight border check posts in the Nilgiris are being monitored by teams comprising officials from the department of animal husbandry, police, forest department and revenue department. The entry of vehicles carrying poultry from Kerala and Karnataka bordering the Nilgiris has also been banned, the district administration stated in a press release.

The district administration stated that the eight check posts are located along the border between Tamil Nadu and the states of Kerala and Karnataka to protect against the spread of bird flu, which has been reported in Kerala.

The teams are monitoring and preventing the entry of poultry from the two neighbouring states.

The administration has appealed to owners of poultry farms in the district to take appropriate steps to prevent bird flu from spreading to birds kept in farms in the Nilgiris. They urged farmers to ensure that wild birds do not enter their farms. Farmers have also been told to not raise chicken, ducks and turkeys in the same farm, while they have also asked to restrict the entry of outsiders into the farms.

Apart from cleaning up the farms twice a month with disinfectants, owners have also been told to report death of birds to the animal husbandry department.