Rethink ban on sale of poultry because of bird flu, Centre asks states

Centre asked the states to allow the selling of poultry products sourced from non-infected areas/states

Assuring the safety of well-cooked chicken and eggs, the Central government on Saturday requested the state governments across the country to rethink the ban on the sale of poultry, and allow the selling of poultry products sourced from non-infected areas/states.

The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (FAHD) in a release said that the consumers should not heed to the unscientific rumours regarding the spread of bird flu.

The ministry said that the ban has adversely affected poultry and egg markets and thereby poultry and maize farmers, who are already affected by the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown.

"States have been requested to rethink their decisions to impose a ban on the sale of poultry and poultry products and allow the selling of poultry and poultry products sourced from the non-infected areas/states. It is reiterated that the consumption of well-cooked chicken and eggs is safe for humans. Consumers should not heed to baseless rumours that are unscientific and often lead to confusion," the FAHD release said.

Noting that the country is effectively controlling the spread of bird flu, the Central government on Friday had instructed the state government to allow the selling of poultry and poultry products sourced from avian influenza-free areas/states.

"Till January 16, cases of Avian Influenza have been confirmed in poultry in Latur, Parbhani, Nanded, Pune, Solapur, Yavatmal, Ahmednagar, Beed and Raigad districts of Maharashtra," the release said.

Moreover, Avian Influenza has been confirmed in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh (crow); Surat, Navsari and Narmada districts of Gujarat (crow); Dehradun district of Uttarakhand (crow); Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh (crow). Additionally, in Delhi, Pigeon and brown fish owl in Najafgarh and Heron in Rohini have tested positive for avian influenza.

As per the report, received from Central Poultry Development Organisation Mumbai, Government of India unusual mortality of poultry have been found in the farm. The samples have been sent to the designated laboratory for testing.

In Chhattisgarh, RRTs has been deployed and the culling of poultry is underway in the epicentre of Balod district. Further, in Madhya Pradesh also RRTs have been deployed. Culling operation of poultry is underway in the epicentre of Harda district of Madhya Pradesh.

The central teams formed for monitoring the situation in the affected areas of the country are visiting the affected sites and conducting epistemological studies.

Following the advisories of the department, states are undertaking awareness generation activities through newspaper advertisements, social media platforms etc. Furthermore, continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian Influenza is being shared among the public through media platforms including social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.