AMRITSAR: Having suffered losses due to widespread scare of bird flu, the poultry farmers have sought the Centre’s intervention in checking rumours and false fear in the minds of people by giving them the true picture.
The Amritsar Poultry Industry Association has written a letter to the Union minister of fishery, animal husbandry and dairy Giriraj Singh, urging him to step in to help the poultry farmers from the alleged false propaganda.
Association president G S Bedi claimed that the poultry farmers had been taking a lot of biosecurity measures on the guidelines of WHO and animal husbandry department since the first outbreak of bird flu in the country in 2006.
“Since then, we are using disinfectants, sanitizers, and proper vaccination at our poultry farms besides using a lot of immunity building products in the poultry feed to protect the birds from the disease,” said Bedi.
Claiming that despite taking all measures, the mortality of some birds is reported in the winter season every year, he rued, “It’s only the poultry farmers who have to bear huge economic losses. We can control the disease, but not the rumours.”
He said the association had also written to the minister to check on news channels which sensationalize the issue while compromising accuracy.
The association president said the poultry farmers were dealing with the sensitive livestock and during winters the natural mortality increases.
“In winter, we maintain 75 to 95° Fahrenheit in poultry sheds as per the age of birds, but wild birds live only at the mercy of nature, so their mortality is always high. Bird flu is always brought in by migratory birds to wild birds, which are not protected by anyone and are likely to be harmed by the sudden change in temperature,” he explained.
The association also cited a report prepared by Reshmi Kazi, association fellow at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis which says “In India, bird flu outbreaks have occurred on 11 occasions since 2006. Though there has been no human death reported, the pandemic has significantly hit the poultry industry and has serious concern within India.”