Bird flu: Not just poultry trade, CARI research too in danger

Avian influenza can wipe out mother flocks of superior chickens, quails and turkeys: Research institute director

: The recent outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu in various states, including Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur zoo where samples of two dead birds tested positive, has put over four decades of work of developing superior quality poultry birds at Bareilly’s Central Avian Research Institute (CARI) in danger.

It has also alarmed the booming poultry industry in north India that sources chicklings of superior birds from the institute.

“CARI has mother flocks of superior chickens, both broilers and layers, quails and turkeys which have been developed by carefully breeding them over the years. The bird flu can wipe out these flocks completely,” said the institute’s director Sanjeev Kumar. Considering this, the institute has laid down measures to prevent its over 40,000 poultry from catching the infection which may come through foreign objects and even birds.

“We have put complete restrictions on movement of outsiders on the campus. Only limited staff can access the cages where the birds are kept. The entire area is sanitised three times every day. Measures have also been put in place to prevent outside birds from reaching the cages,” Kumar added.

“We have installed reflectors and wire hangings near the cages and other parts of the campus to prevent outside birds from coming close to our flocks,” the CARI director said.

The institute made similar arrangements during the bird flu outbreak in 2006. The arrangements proved effective as none of the poultry at CARI, which was started in 1979, was harmed.

At the institute, the experts use selective breeding technique where only superior quality of birds are mated and propagated. The exercise requires breeding over generations to achieve better quality birds.

“When we started selective breeding of chickens almost three decades ago, they used to give only 50 to 60 eggs in a lifespan. Now the layer chickens we have can give up to 160 eggs in a lifetime. Similarly, we started selective breeding in turkey that weighed around 4 kg each earlier. Now, the turkeys developed at our farms weigh over 10 kg each,” Kumar said.

Over 15,000 poultry farms, mostly in north Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have benefited from the superior quality poultry from CARI. These farms procure their chicklings either directly from CARI or from private hatcheries linked with the institute.

“Almost half of the poultry industry in north India is linked to CARI in one way or the other. We look to them to provide us with better poultry and develop better feeds to improve yields,” said Sukhbir Shekhwat, owner of True Eggs—a Ghaziabad-based company with annual turnover of over Rs 6 crore. “The poultry industry is currently in a state of coma because sales have dropped by more than 80% due to the bird flu. However, we will need support from CARI to begin work again in coming months,” said Shekhawat.

“Poultry farmers from across the country are in touch with us for curbing the spread of bird flu. Our experts are advising them. In the meantime, we continue to have our guards raised to prevent our flocks from getting infected,” said the director.