POULTRY
Fears of huge production losses as bird flu spreads
Stakeholders in the poultry sector fear that the deadly bird flucould affect more chicken farmers in the coming weeks
Stakeholders in the poultry sector fear that the deadly bird flu, which has spread to two more farms, could affect more chicken farmers in the coming weeks and this may lead to big losses in commercial production units. Namibia‚ Botswana‚ Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have all halted imports of poultry products from SA. The poultry industry is reeling and has shed hundreds of jobs in recent months. It has blamed this on cheap chicken imports, mainly from the EU. The bird flu has added to the sector’s woes. The Department of Agriculture‚ Forestry and Fisheries confirmed this week that the highly contagious strain of bird flu had spread to one farm in Gauteng and another in Mpumalanga, the region where the disease was first detected. The farms affected by the bird flu outbreak are all involved in commercial layer chickens. The outbreak was first confirmed in June at another two farms in Mpumalanga. The affected farms were placed under quarantine‚ the birds culled and eggs destroyed....
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