The district administration has stepped up vigil to protect Namakkal’s poultry industry from bird flu that broke out in Kerala.
Namakkal has 988 poultry units with 4.15 crore layer birds and 102 units with 6.5 lakh broiler chickens.
Collector V. Dakshinamoorthy told the poultry owners that all precautionary measures were taken. Twenty rapid response teams of veterinarians were formed. Furthermore, 97 veterinarians were inspecting farms every day. Farmers were asked to report poultry deaths to the authorities and not to allow migratory birds on their premises.
Joint Director of Animal Husbandry P. Sakthivel told The Hindu that farmers were asked to transport eggs in paper trays instead of plastic trays. Farmers were asked to wash the cages and vehicles returning from Kerala even after they were sprayed with sodium chloride and chlorine dioxide in the neighbouring State.
Farmers in panicPoultry farmers in Namakkal worry that any ban on the entry of poultry products will affect their business that is facing challenges.
Of the total 3.2 crore eggs produced in the Namakkal zone every day, one crore are transported in trucks to Kerala through the Walayar checkpoint. Layer birds and other poultry products are also sent there.
Farmers say the order issued by Kerala’s Animal Husbandry Department to restrict the movement of poultry and allied products in Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts will not affect them. However, if the ban is extended across the State, they will be in trouble.
“Stagnation of eggs will push the price down,” says K. Baskar, a farmer.