Bhubaneswar: Culling of birds has been ordered in the Poultry Breeding and Research Farm, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here and also its periphery after samples were found positive for bird flu, a State Government notification said on Monday.
After unusual death of nearly 300-400 chickens at the farm run by the College of Veterinary Science of the OUAT in last couple of days, the authorities had sent samples to Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases where tests were found positive for the H5N1 virus.
“Samples collected from the Poultry Breeding and Research Farm, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry of the OUAT, Bhubaneswar are found positive for H5N1 Avian Influenza virus. The State Government do hereby notify that the farm as epicentre of H5N1 AI virus to take up culling operations within one km of the epicentre,” said Fisheries and Animal Development Department notification.
Payment of compensation for forced culling of poultry birds, their feed and destruction of eggs for control and containment of the virus will be made.
Meanwhile, the authorities have decided to cull chickens from Tuesday to control and contain the spread of bird flu from the epicentre of OUAT farm.
“So far, we have found samples positive for bird flu from three places- two places in Munger and one in Patna i.e.
Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park known as Patna zoo. But today, we received positive result for bird flu from the samples collected from Barahat block of Banka district,” Animal and Fish Resources Department’s Secretary N Vijayalakshmi told reporters here.
