New case of avian flu confirmed in Standerton
The immediate slaughter of 25,000 birds is required as a second farm is hit by the highly contagious strain
A second case of a highly contagious form of avian flu was confirmed on a commercial chicken farm in Mpumalanga on Monday, which will require the immediate slaughter of 25,000 birds in addition to the 24,000 culled on another farm in the province in the past week. South African Poultry Association CEO Kevin Lovell said all 280,000 birds on the Standerton farm would ultimately have to be culled, although the first step would be to slaughter the infected 25,000 birds housed separately. Lovell said the value of the birds to be culled was not yet known. Producers were compensated for chickens killed on the government’s instruction, but this had not yet been discussed by those concerned. The affected chickens were egg layers, which numbered about 25-million in SA, he said. This meant about 66,000 eggs a day would be affected, which was not significant in terms of the country’s 24-million daily egg supply. Lovell reiterated that the flu strain was not harmful to humans. It had come into t...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.