The culling of Poultry birds (chicken) infected by bird flu in Parbhani district of Maharashtra was put on hold on Tuesday due to opposition by local poultry farm owners.

The district administration is in touch with owners and culling process is expected to start on Wednesday, said Anoop Kumar, Animal Husbandry Secretary of Maharashtra.

Confirmation

The National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal on Sunday said that out of eight samples of dead poultry sent from Parbhani district, six are confirmed for H5N1 virus and two samples for H5N8 virus variant. The death of the poultry birds have happened in Muramba village in Parbhani district. About 8,000 chicken have been affected by the bird flu. Kumar said that the local backyard poultry owners in Parbhani are resisting to the culling process. However, the Parbhani Collector has assured that the culling will start on Wednesday.

A strict protocol has been maintained at the Parbhani site so that there is no breach. The Parbhani Collector will also be releasing the compensation in advance to the poultry farm owners.

Notification

Following the procedures, the Law and Judiciary Department on Wednesday will issue a notification for commencing the culling operation. Meanwhile, the Animal Husbandry Department has also issued a letter to the District authorities to go ahead and cull without waiting for a formal notification, he said.

On the other hand, the Collector of Latur district has confirmed that the culling has started at Ahmedpur region.

There has been reports of bird deaths in Bhandara and Nanded district, the Animal Husbandry Secretary said.

Animal Health programme

Kumar informed that the Chief Minister’s Animal Health Programme, which was to be launched on January 26 was advanced and activated on Tuesday. Under this programme 73 animal clinics and a toll-free number (1962) for reporting on animal health has been launched. This number will also be used for informing mortality of the birds in Maharashtra.

comment COMMENT NOW