‘NO NEED TO REGISTER THEM’
Owners of birds, bantam and free-range chickens exempted from registration with Veterinary Dept
SHARIFAH MAHSINAH ABDULLAH PASIR MAS sharifahmah@nst.com.my
OWNERS of birds, bantam and free-range chickens are exempted from registering the fowls with the Veterinary Services Department (VSD) to be checked for the avian flu H5N1 virus.
Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said this was because VSD would check all places to detect the virus.
“They (the authorities) are ready to conduct operations against the avian flu. Once the infected birds are found, they will be destroyed immediately.
“Roadblocks will also be carried out regularly to prevent the virus from spreading to other states,” he said after launching the “Negaraku Prihatin” programme near Meranti here yesterday.
Shabery said taking action early was important to protect the good image of the country.
“Therefore, intensified checks on birds and chickens must be carried out regularly although no new reports on the flu have been recorded since last week.
“We will never compromise on hygiene.” Shabery said the government would only declare Kelantan free from H5N1 once the situation fully returned to normal.
On Saturday, VSD confirmed that there had been no new cases of H5N1 in Kelantan over the last seven days.
As of Saturday, 28 locations tested positive for H5N1 virus. Kota Baru has 14 locations, Pasir Mas (6), Tumpat (3), Tanah Merah (1), Bachok (1) and Pasir Puteh (3) involving 43 premises.
So far, 37,862 birds have been culled and 15,450 eggs have been destroyed.
VSD had assured the public that all broiler chickens and eggs were safe for consumption and asked the public to report the death of any fowls.