As per information received from the poultry industry, there has been a substantial loss in terms of death /culling of poultry birds as well as reduction in consumption of poultry and poultry products due to fear of spread of bird flu thereby leading to less price realization for poultry eggs and meat. As per information received from the States/UTs,a total of 4,49, 271 poultry birds have been culled so far due to Avian flu (Bird flu).
Avian flu among poultry and wild birds have been confirmed in 14 States/ UTs namely Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. However, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala have been affected badly.
The Department, under Assistance to States for Control of Animal Disease (ASCAD) component of Livestock Health & Disease Control (LH&DC) scheme, supplements the efforts of States/UTs governments for prevention, control and containment of animal diseases, including bird flu, by providing financial assistance (on a 50:50 sharing basis based on extant rates) to the States /UTs. Compensation is paid to poultry farmers whose poultry birds, eggs and poultry feed are culled / destroyed as per the extant Action Plan for Prevention, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza (bird flu).
Status of States affected badly due to bird flu (data as on 09.02.2021)
| S.No. | State | Number of districts affected | Poultry died | Number of poultry birds culled |
| 1. | Maharashtra | 22 | 41,504 | 1,09,426 |
| 2. | Haryana | 2 | 2,10,000 | 1,64,000 |
| 3. | Punjab | 1 | 49,936 | 84,505 |
| 4. | Kerala | 2 | 25,864 | 58,335 |
A total of 4,49,271 birds have been culled so far due to bird flu in the country during the recent bird flu outbreak, but no information regarding the quantum of losses to the poultry farm industry has been received from States/UTs. However, as per information received from the poultry industry, there has been a substantial loss in terms of death/depopulation of poultry birds as well as reduction in consumption of poultry and poultry products due to fear of spread of bird flu thereby leading to less price realization for poultry eggs and meat.
Surveillance of Avian Influenza (bird flu) is carried out throughout the country. Further, the Department has deployed Central team to the states for monitoring and conducting epidemiological investigation of bird flu.
The Central Expert team that visited Kerala has recommended the following preventive measures:
- Avoid the present infected areas for duck rearing.
- Examining faecal samples from migratory birds in the affected areas in collaboration with forest department for presence of the bird flu virus.
- Traders who collect eggs and birds from poultry farms should follow biosecurity measures strictly. iv. Engaging in mass awareness campaigns in collaboration with Panchayat/Municipality.
This Information was given by The Minister of State For Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan in Rajya Sabha Today.
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