Close to the Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan, located 80 kms south west of the state capital Jaipur, there has been an alarming rise in the number of crows that have died in the past few days. It has been confirmed that 70 crows died of bird flu.
“On November 19, we received news of the crows dying near Sambhar Lake. A sample was immediately sent to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases-ICAR in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The reports from there confirm that the cause of death was bird flu,” Praveen Kumar, joint director, animal husbandry department, Jaipur, told Gaon Connection.
This is the time of the year that many migratory birds visit Sambhar Lake and experts believe that the bird flu might have been brought in by them. “More than seventy crows have died so far and we have sanitised the area where they were found dead,” Praveen Kumar said.
The H5N1 (also called avian influenza), or bird flu as it is more commonly known, is a kind of influenza virus that can affect the birds. Humans are sometimes affected by it too, but it cannot be passed from one human to another.
There is fear that the good number of migratory birds that have arrived at the Sambhar lake this year are also under threat.
In January this year, bird flu had gripped several states across India including Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, HImachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
Also Read: COVID19 and bird flu: If birds drop dead, we are at risk too
In many of the states, poultry was culled in large numbers. The poultry farmers were compensated by the department of animal husbandry and dairying.
A compensation was fixed by the department. For culling layer chickens, and broiler chickens, the poultry farmers got Rs 20 a bird, for the bigger hens it was Rs 90 each, for the bigger broiler chickens it was Rs 70, big and small quails got Rs 10 and Rs 5 respectively, ducklings Rs 35, larger ducks Rs 135, Guinea fowls were Rs 20 for the chicks and Rs 90 for the bigger ones and the turkey chicks got Rs 60 while the grown ones Rs 160 each.
For destroying the eggs, the poultry farmer received Rs 3 per egg as compensation and for every kilo of poultry feed destroyed, the farmer received Rs 12.
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