Villagers baffled by sudden death of chickens
BACHOK: Villagers of Kampung Dusun Durian here are baffled by the spate of deaths of chickens from the avian flu H5N1 in the village as it is located 30km away from the nearest centre of outbreak.
The villagers said none of them kept fighting cocks and there had been no movement of birds from the places infected with the flu, the two major sources of infection.
Shukri Che Omar, 44, said he noticed several ayam kampung reared by his family had running noses on Saturday, but thought nothing of it.
“However, they started falling to the ground and died in the next few days. I lost six chickens. Several of my neighbours also suffered losses. I know they died of the avian flu as it is all over the news,” he said yesterday.
Shukri said Veterinary Services Department workers were all over the village in the last few days to cull the birds.
“We are not knowledgeable about the disease. It would be of great help if the department could explain to us how the disease is spread. The village is 30km away from the nearest centre of outbreak and we are wondering how it could spread that far. The information will help us take precautions so that the outbreak will not spread to other areas,” he said.
Kampung Dusun Durian is presently the sole village in the district affected by the disease.
Meanwhile, food stall operator Md Johari Ariffin, 34, could not stop shedding tears when Veterinary officers took away more than 30 birds from his home, including three pet doves and two Ayam Cantik, for culling on Thursday night.
“I bought them for several hundred ringgit in Kuala Terengganu and have kept them for three years. I loved them and it was painful to see them being put down,” he said.
Johari, originally from Terengganu, said he accepted the decision taken by the department as it was done to stop the bird flu from spreading to other villages and endangering human lives.
In Pasir Mas, organisers of a weekly bird singing competition at Kampung Pasir Parit caught enthuasists by surprise when it decided to cancel the event temporarily because of the outbreak.
The event, which is popular with locals and fans from neighbouring Thailand, has been running for seven years.
Chief organiser Ken Chan Lee said he decided to cancel the programme as he was worried that the birds would be infected by the virus, causing more than 30 fans who had arrived at the competition venue to return home.
“We organised this bird singing competition to fulfill the activity for bird enthusiasts.
“It attracted a large from following all over the state and visitors from nearby provinces in Thailand.”