An obligation to keep and shield poultry and other bird species will once again be imposed for the whole of the Netherlands. Agriculture Minister Piet Adema announced this on Wednesday. Not only commercial keepers have to keep their poultry indoors, but also hobby keepers.
“Unfortunately, the high number of infections makes it clear that extra precaution is needed,” Adema writes to the House of Representatives.
The latter has seen major outbreaks of the bird flu virus in several places. There are also daily reports of dead wild birds. Laboratory research shows that 40 percent of the cadavers are infected with the virus. “The bird flu virus has not disappeared from the Netherlands this summer and the situation will not improve with the coming bird migration,” writes Adema.
Last October, a national confinement obligation was also introduced after an infection at a poultry farm in Zeewolde. In addition to a transport ban, zoos, petting zoos and owners of hobby birds had to shield their poultry and waterfowl.
Danger increased
The holding obligation has been extended continuously. At the end of June, the cabinet announced that companies no longer had to keep their poultry indoors in some regions. But the risk of further spread of the bird flu virus has increased in recent weeks, also in regions where a confinement obligation was already in place.
Experts fear that the wild bird migration, which will start in October, will bring a new variant of the virus. Because there were many outbreaks in the Netherlands last month, the virus can also lead to additional infections in newly arrived birds.
,,I realize that this is yet another setback for the poultry farmers involved”, says Adema. “Unfortunately, it makes it clear that extra precaution is needed.”
15,000 chickens culled
Bird flu was diagnosed on an organic poultry farm in Wildervank (Groningen) on Wednesday. To prevent the spread of the virus, the 14,740 chickens are culled by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). There is also a second poultry farm in the yard with 3600 laying hens. Those chickens are also culled, because there is a very real chance that they are also infected.
Both companies were already intensively monitored, because bird flu had already been diagnosed 100 meters away at another poultry farm. There were 15,000 laying hens, which have also been culled. There is now one other poultry farm within a radius of 1 kilometer of the organic poultry farm. The animals on this farm are examined by the NVWA and intensively monitored for fourteen days by the Animal Health Service (GD).
Within three kilometers of the infected farm are six poultry farms that are also being investigated for bird flu by the NVWA. There are a total of 22 poultry farms within the 10 kilometer zone. Within this area there was already an obligation to shelter, screen off and a transport ban.
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