The SA Poultry Association has warned that all types of chicken are at risk of contracting bird flu‚ whether they are free range‚ hardbody‚ or a conventional live chicken.
SA Poultry Association CEO Kevin Lovell said the sale of live chickens had been banned to curb the spread of the virus. He said the ban had nothing to do with preventing illness in humans.
“Though all chickens are susceptible to the disease‚ the bird flu is an animal health problem and not a human health one. The specific version of the flu discovered in South Africa is not harmful to human health‚ but poses a great threat to the poultry industry as the ones infected must be culled if they have not died from the disease already‚” he said.
Lovell said it was perfectly fine for people to continue buying chicken as regulations had been put in place to oversee the distribution of live chickens‚ which ensures that no infected stock will be on the market. “The association is working closely with the Department of Agriculture‚ Forestry and Fisheries to ensure that the farms that grow the chickens are regulated‚ and necessary measures are taken to curb a further spread.”
The knowledge is then passed down to the distributors whom infected chickens will not be sold to.
“As for chickens that are already processed‚ no need to worry about them as they are tested before packaged‚ it’s the standard‚” he added.
Professor Celia Abolnik‚ head of the Poultry Health and Production Research Chair at the University of Pretoria‚ echoed Lovell’s warning.
“There are many factors that could result in a further spread of the disease‚ such as the mobility and transportation of the chickens and resources. Some poultry farmers may not necessarily have the necessary equipment that can protect the chickens from contracting the flu.
“The free-range chicken is no safer (than other types of chicken0. They are all prone to contracting the disease‚” said Abolnik.
Agriculture‚ forestry and fisheries minister Senzeni Zokwana said last Thursday that no cases had been reported so far in other provinces‚ saying a team of veterinarians had swiftly responded to the threat and the farms were quarantined.
Zokwana said‚ as a precautionary measure‚ buyers or sellers of more than five live chickens for any purpose other than slaughter at a registered abattoir‚ would be subjected to the following conditions:
• Live chicken sellers‚ including commercial farmers‚ and traders must register with the Poultry Disease Management Agency (PDMA).
• Only registered traders are allowed to trade. It is the responsibility of the seller and buyer to ensure that their counterpart is registered.
• Farmers may only sell live chickens certified as healthy by a veterinarian or animal health technician.
• Traders may only sell healthy chickens and must keep records as prescribed.
• Sellers and buyers registering with PDMA would have to sign an undertaking to adhere to the required control measures. The avian influenza outbreak in some parts of South Africa‚ like Mpumalanga and the Free State‚ has resulted in Zimbabwe banning chicken imports from the country.
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