The State government has modified the ban on the movement of poultry and poultry products to and from the 10-km surveillance zone around the Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) at Hessarghatta near here by allowing trading of poultry products within the zone, besides allowing movement of poultry products into the surveillance zone.
Partially relaxed
The ban on movement of poultry to and from the surveillance zone has been in effect since October last week following the outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) at the CPDO, which led to the culling of over 33,000 chicken, turkey, emu and ostrich. The total ban was in place till Thursday.
“We have partially relaxed the ban and have allowed selling poultry within the zone. Further, these products can be brought from outside the zone,” Arvind Jannu, Principal Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, told The Hindu .
On the lifting of the ban on movement of poultry from the surveillance zone to other places, he said: “It is difficult to say at this moment. We need to keep control for some time.”
Incidentally, the surveillance zone has about 1.5 lakh poultry in various farms, the owners of which have been asking the government to lift the ban as they have suffered business losses.
Sanitisation certificate
Mr. Jannu said that while the CPDO — where the outbreak was first reported — has got its sanitisation certificate, the ban on movement of poultry and poultry products from Karnataka to Kerala is yet to be lifted.
Meanwhile, a resident from Majarahoshalli near Doddaballapur has complained that at least 12 home-reared chickens in the village died Thursday morning. According to Vinay Kumar, chickens of three families in the village had died unnaturally, and that their deaths have been brought to the notice of the department officials, he said.
