Quaint village finds unwanted fame

KOTA BARU: Kampung Cabang Tiga Pendek is a small village on the outskirts of the state capital, but it was a hive of activity recently with Veterinary Services Department staff from all over the country flocking to the area.

More than 1,000 chickens in the village have died due to the H5N1 avian flu, which is among the highest count from the outbreak so far.

Chicken farmer Sazuri Awang said the villagers were worried when they received information about the area being gazetted as an H5N1 outbreak area.

“Since last month, there has been a lot of activities in our village as many veterinary officers and health personnel entered the village to check for the virus and to cull the birds.

“However, things are back to normal as birds in the village have been culled,” said the 47year-old father of three.

Sazuri, who breeds free-range chicken, suffered losses of more than RM16,000 when 800 of his chickens died last month, while another 1,040 were culled.

Villager Zainab Abd Razak, 47, said she could not sleep for almost a week worrying about the safety of her family after being informed that the area was classified as one of the epidemic’s locations.

“We can now sleep well as the officers have stopped coming to the village for inspections.

“From now on, we must be more careful if we want to rear chicken.”