By the end of this day, the tedious and difficult task of culling almost half a million chicken, quails and ducks in San Luis, Pampanga and its periphery will be over.
Agriculture Regional Director Roy Abaya reported early today that a total of 214, 506 birds (chicken, ducks, quails) involving 29 farms inside the 7-kilometer controlled radius whose owners volunteered to support the clean-up were culled.
The last remaining farm inside the 1-kilometer contained radius is expected to be cleared today by volunteers, mostly members of the 48th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.
An estimated 500,000 fowls within the 7-km. and 1-km. radius would be culled by the end of the day today.
After the culling operations are completed, bio-security teams will disinfect the farms and wait out for another 21 days before the next step of fielding “sentinel birds” in the area will be undertaken.
The “sentinel birds” will be used in determining whether there is still a presence of the Avian Flu virus in the area.
If after 35 days, the “sentinel birds” will not show any symptoms of the AI virus, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) will declare San Luis and the periphery as free of the Bird Flu virus.
However, farmers in the 1-km controlled radius will not be allowed to raise chickens, ducks or quails and other feathered fowls for another 90-days.
With San Luis, Pampanga cleared by today, our bio-security teams will now focus on Jaen and San Isidro, Nueva Ecija and complete the clean-up operations.
If there are no other reported cases of Bird Flu outbreak 21 days after the completion of the clean-up and disinfection operations in Jaen and San Isidro, the Agriculture Department will lift the ban on the shipment of poultry and poultry products to other parts of the country.
I am hoping and praying that Jaen and San Isidro would be the last of our AI problems.
(Photos of Army Soldiers preparing for the clean-up of San Luis, Pampanga released by the Bureau of Animal Industry.)
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