Bird flu has been diagnosed at a poultry farm with chickens in Hekendorp in Utrecht, which is probably a very pathogenic variant. That is what the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality has Saturday night reported† To prevent the spread of the virus, approximately 121,000 chickens are gassed by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
Another poultry farm, located within three kilometers of the affected farm, is being sampled for bird flu. Six other poultry farms within ten kilometers have been banned from transport. This means that they are temporarily not allowed to transport birds, eggs and bird manure.
It is according to RTV Utrecht the third time that bird flu was found at the poultry farm in Hekendorp – a matter of ‘bad luck’, according to an NVWA inspector. The company has laying hens and hens reared for laying. The peak of bird flu has not yet been reached, agriculture minister Henk Staghouwer (ChristenUnie) told ANP news agency in February.
Also read: Poultry farmers fear lower income due to bird flu and want an exception to European rules
The bird flu epidemic seems to be quite persistent. In 2022, the national government already made 26 notifications of the virus, and at least a million animals have been culled. Since October 2021, there has been an obligation to keep birds at commercial poultry farmers, but Staghouwer wants that poultry farmers take further measures to prevent infections. Among other things, a mandatory hygiene check, to identify and remedy shortcomings in biosecurity in stables before poultry farmers are allowed to place animals again after culling, is an option for him.
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