Bhubaneswar: The State government has started culling of chickens after detecting bird flu case in a poultry farm in Pipili area of Puri district.
After the mass death of chickens unnaturally in a poultry farm in Pipili area, the government has sent a veterinary team to the farm and samples collected from the firm have been sent for testing.
After finding the sample bird flu positive, the government has started culling of birds in the firm and locality on Saturday, officials said.
While 300 birds were culled on Saturday, more than 4700 chickens were culled on Sunday, informed Jagannath Nanda, additional director of disease control.
A total of 20,000 birds will be culled in the Pipili area. Rapid response teams, with precautions, have been engaged to cull the birds and then buried under ground, he said.
Manoj Patnaik, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services, Cuttack, said all the birds within 1 km radius from the poultry farm will be culled and the farm will not be allowed to stock chicken for another five months as the flu can spread to the local community.
The farmers will be provided compensation as per the guidelines. While for one small chicken, they will get Rs 20, for bigger one the compensation amount is Rs 60, Shri Patnaik said.