South Korea - Culling of chicken stopped at Odisha bird flu-hit village as resident protest action - December 27, 2016

[Treyfish]

Culling of chicken stopped at Odisha bird flu-hit village

Press Trust of India | Bhubaneswar December 27, 2016 Last Updated at 21:02 IST

The Odisha govenrment today failed to undertake culling of chicken at the bird flu hit Keragada village under Khurda district due to stiff opposition from the local residents.

The villagers demanded that the culling start from a nearby poultry farm on the outskirts of village and more compensation proportional to the cost of each bird culled, Khurda district collector Niranjan Sahu said.



Though the members of the culling teams were all set to start the culling of the birds after the state government declred Keragada village as the epicentre of the H5N1virus, they could not proceed due to resistance from the public, Sahu said

Three rapid response teams, which were mobilised to take up culling operation, failed to kill any bird in the village on the first day.

Fisheries and animal resource department secretary B P Sethi, however, said that the virus was detected in the same village in 2012.

"Now, the epicentre of the virus has been identified. Three Rapid Response teams have been formed to cull 2000 birds in 1 km radius of the infected place", Sethi said.

The district collector said that there was no poultry farm within one km radius of the village.

A huge pit has been dug to bury the culled birds and elaborate arrangements have been made for disinfecting the area.http://www.business-standard.com/art...2701002_1.html

[Treyfish]

Poultry cull hits protest hurdle

By Express News Service | Published: 28th December 2016 01:39 AM |
Last Updated: 28th December 2016 04:57 AM | A+A A- |


BHUBANESWAR: The State Government?s bid to start culling of poultry birds in H5N1 avian influenza infected Keranga in Khurda hit a roadblock on Tuesday after locals stalled the exercise demanding a raise in compensation and demolition of a broiler farm located on the outskirts of the village.
Khurda Collector Niranjan Sahu, SP Manoranjan Mohanty and CDVO Dr Manas Ranjan Mohapatra visited Keranga and tried to persuade the villagers to allow culling but a section of the locals stuck to their ground.
Sources in the administration said a group of villagers was vociferous in its demand that the birds of the poultry farm be culled as a precautionary measure. They alleged that virus transmission may have started from the unit.
However, the administration told them that culling in the farm cannot be taken up as the farm is located at a distance of 2 km from Keranga and did not fall in the infected zone which is identified as 1 km radius of the epicentre. Since locals were insistent, the authorities assured them to send samples from the farm for testing. If the results test positive, culling would be taken up, said the official sources.
Another section also demanded that compensation be paid at real time cost, not as per the rates fixed by the Centre. To make a breakthrough, the district administration agreed to pay `25 extra from the Red Cross fund for each bird over one and a half months old.
By evening, SP Manoranjan Mohanty said, majority of the villagers could be persuaded to allow culling over health grounds as it is of primary concern. However, there is still a section which is insistent on the demands. ??We will start the operation on Wednesday at 6 am and are hopeful that the locals would cooperate,?? he added.
The district administration has also decided to sweep farms and poultry holders in surveillance zone of 1-10 km radius. Any suspicious mortality would be reported for investigation.
While the culling operation was in limbo, the origin of the virus remained a poser for State Government as Keranga had reported bird flu in 2011-12. Since the Veterinary Directorate had been monitoring the region ever since, it could detect the mortalities and sent the samples for test which led to immediate intervention.
Sources said the H5N1 virus, which has a long gestation period, may have remained dormant in sub-surface soil since the disposal process does not always lead to complete destruction of agents. Besides, possibility of the virus mutating after four years remained a question.
A major worry, however, was that crows also perished after being infected, which meant these birds may have travelled a distance of 5 to 10 km and transmitted the virus. Since Chilika lagoon, which is thronged by thousands of migratory birds during this period of the year, is not far, Wildlife Wing authorities are keeping a close watch.
Chilika Wildlife Division authorities said standard protocol for monitoring and surveillance is maintained and samples are sent for tests periodically. So far, no unusual death of migratory birds has been reported from the brackish water lagoon yet. The Health Department, meanwhile, has stepped up watch on flu incidence in villages located in 10 km radius of Keranga.http://www.newindianexpress.com/stat...e-1553716.html