Pipli (Odisha):As many as 40,000 chickens from 54 farms in Pipili township in Odisha's Puri district are expected to be culled on Monday after the H5N1 strain of avian influenza or bird flu was detected in the Pipili area of Odisha's Puri district.
An official said that more than 5,000 chickens have already been culled in the area. After mass deaths of chickens at a poultry farm in Pipili, the state government had sent a veterinary team, which collected samples and sent those for testing, he said.
After the samples came back as positive, the government started culling chickens in the farm and the locality on Saturday, he added. While 300 chickens were culled on Saturday, more than 4,700 were culled on Sunday, said Jagannath Nanda, the additional director of disease control.
Rapid response teams have been engaged to cull the birds and bury them, he said. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Joint Director Manoj Patnaik said that all birds within the 1 km radius of the poultry will be culled and the farm will not be allowed to stock chicken for another five months. The farmers will be provided compensation as per the guidelines, he said.
Poultry farmers are strongly advocating for fair compensation before the mass culling, expressing their concerns and demanding immediate action. The officials have assured compensation in compliance with government guidelines.
The farmers have threatened not to allow a single chicken to be killed without receiving compensation. Pradyumna Parida, secretary of Odisha Poultry Development Forum, expressed concerns about the farmers' losses and questioned who will provide compensation.
The Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department has assured that the farmers will be compensated as per the existing guidelines issued by the Central and State governments. The compensation will be Rs 70 for each big chicken and Rs 20 for each small chicken from the 54 farms in the Pipili area. (With agency inputs)
