Poultry owners in Namakkal have urged the Union Animal Husbandry Department to supply the ILT vaccine to safeguard chickens against infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT). Officials from the department are expected to visit Namakkal in the third week of May regarding this.
Over 1,500 poultry farms function in Namakkal district, producing over six crore eggs per day that are dispatched to parts of Tamil Nadu and beyond. An outbreak of ILT inside a farm could kill 1–2% of the chicken population in a single day, which could cause severe losses for poultry owners. Considering the severity of the threat, poultry owners have urged the Union Animal Husbandry Department to provide ILT vaccine either by manufacturing on their own or by importing it.
On April 30, Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association (TNPFA) president K. Singaraj and All India Poultry Products Exporters Association (AIPPEA) secretary Valsan Parameswaran, along with other office bearers, met Union Animal Husbandry department secretary Alka Upadhyaya and the department commissioner Abhijit Mitra in New Delhi in an effort to address the issue. In response, officials assured them that they would visit Namakkal to understand the challenges faced by poultry owners regarding ILT and other related issues.
Mr. Parameswaran said that if the government provided the vaccine, it would safeguard the poultry owners from loss. “Namakkal accounts for 95% of India’s eggs exports, so we have requested the Animal Husbandry Department to provide a state-of-the-art laboratory to certify chicken health. At present, blood samples of chickens are sent to a lab in Bengaluru for tests every 21 days, causing delays,” he said. Mr. Parameswaran also advocated for prompt compensation in instances of bird flu, depending on the price of chicken in the market or based on its weight.
“Likewise, we urge the department to look into certification processes for compartment farms, since egg-importing countries prioritise eggs produced in such facilities. Through the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), we also decided to take our grievances to the government. The CII officials are also soon visiting Namakkal,” Mr. Parameswaran added.
