KZN on avian flu alert

KWAZULU-NATAL remained on high alert this week after an outbreak of avian flu in neighbouring Mpumalanga and the Free State.

Provincial authorities said they were monitoring poultry producers to ensure that the disease was contained.

The KZN Department of Agriculture and Rural Development earlier said it would cull all chickens in areas where avian flu was found.

Spokesperson Khaye Nkwanyana said the department viewed the outbreak seriously because of the proximity of Mpumalanga and the Free State.

“The department has called on veterinary services for a special meeting to establish a monitoring team for the various districts.”

KZN has so far remained free of the H5N8 virus that broke out in Mpumalanga two weeks ago.

Yesterday, Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana said hundreds of thousands of chickens had been culled to prevent its spread.

He said the government had placed affected farms under quarantine and diseased birds euthanised and eggs destroyed.

He said the government would pay compensation, adding that the ban on the sale of live chickens, announced this week, was the best way to contain the disease.

“This triggered concern nationwide since a number of livelihoods were affected. However, this measure was imposed in the interest of the country and the poultry producers at large, and it was not taken lightly.”

He said buyers and sellers of “more than five chickens for any purpose other than direct slaughter at a registered abattoir” would be subject to conditions.

However, the National African Farmers Union (Nafu) said the move to curtail the sale of chickens would hurt emerging and subsistence farmers in particular.

Chairperson Mandla Buthelezi said: “The government should also use ‘buffer organisations’ like ours to spread the word since we have contact with the farmers.”

Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana have suspended poultry imports from South Africa.

The KZN Poultry Institute referred all queries to the SA Poultry Association. Chief executive Kevin Lovell said: “Kwazulu-natal has no cases of the disease and companies all over the country are doing all they can to contain it by implementing safety measures.”