WORLD POULTRY NEWS

[dothedd]

Australian poultry giant guilty of misleading consumers

Australian poultry giant, Steggles, has been found guilty of misleading consumers about the housing conditions of its chickens.

Two large poultry producers who supply Steggles branded chickens - Baiada Poultry and Bartter Enterprises - were found to have made false, misleading and deceptive claims on their packaging and advertisement by claiming their chickens were free to roam in barns when this was not the case, the federal court ruled.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched the legal action in September, 2011 after the peak industry body, The Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF), claimed on its website that chickens produced in Australia were "free to roam" or able to "roam freely" in large barns.

The ACMF, which was also found to have engaged in false, misleading and deceptive conduct, has so far declined to comment on the ruling.

Statistics from Steggles, which contested the action, indicated between 17 and 19 chickens were stocked together per square metre, giving each chicken access to an area less than the size of an A4 sheet of paper.

Justice Richard Tracey found that at times in their growth cycle the chickens could not move more than a metre or so without having their further movement obstructed by a barrier of clustered birds. Tracey disagreed with the companies' reality of "free to roam", saying the ordinary and natural meaning of the phrase "free to roam" was “the largely uninhibited ability of the chickens to move around at will in an aimless manner".

The companies all risk fines of $1.1 million per penalty.

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China bans Arkansas poultry after mild bird flu strain

July 30, 2013 China - Arkansas

CHICAGO (Reuters) - China has banned imports of poultry and poultry products from the state of Arkansas after a low-pathogenic strain of avian influenza was found in the state in June, U.S. government and industry officials said on Tuesday

"All poultry and poultry products shipped from the State of Arkansas on or after July 22, 2013 are ineligible for export," the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said on its web site on Tuesday.

The Chinese government posted an official notification on its website, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council spokesman Toby Moore told Reuters.

"As an industry we are disappointed because we hoped China would take the high road and not ban the whole state and limit the ban to the county because it was an isolated incident," Moore said.

Arkansas is the second largest U.S. chicken producer behind Georgia.

In June, tests found about eight birds in an Arkansas flock of 9,000 breeder chickens in Scott County were positive for the H7N7 low-pathogen avian flu, a state poultry official said at the time. The flock was humanly euthanized and buried and the eggs they produced were destroyed.

The influenza is a milder strain of the flu that caused dozens of deaths in China and crippled its poultry industry. Also, the virus found in Arkansas does not pose a threat to humans, state and industry officials said.

Neither the meat or the eggs would have entered the food chain.

The Arkansas farm supplied birds to Tyson Foods Inc.

In response, Tyson said in June it planned to step up its bio-security measures and surveillance of avian influenza and test all area breeder farms that serve the company.

A Tyson spokesman could not be reached for comment regarding China's ban on Arkansas poultry.

[dothedd]

Declaration of bird flu emergency postponed for 3 days

RSS

2013-08-11 5:02 PM

BHAKTAPUR: The government decision to declare Bhaktapur as Bird Flu Emergency Zone will not be implemented for the time being after frequent efforts to control the bird flu have been successful.

The government had decided to declare Bhaktapur as bird flu emergency zone in the discussion Saturday among the Department of Livestock Services and Poultry Entrepreneurs Federation under the convenorship of Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture at the ministry Dr. Prabhakar Pathak and had authorized CDO of Bhaktapur to implement it.

The meeting of the Bird Flu Disease Control Technical Committee under the convenorship of CDO Himnath Dawadi at the District Administration Office today, decided not to declare it for until the next three days.

The meeting participated in by CDO Dawadi, and Deputy Director General of the Department of Livestock Services Dr. Ram Krishna Khatiwada, Regional Director Dr. Damodar Sedhain and Poultry Entrepreneurs Federation Bhaktapur officials decided to scrutinize by taking Bhaktapur as high risk zone but not declare the emergency, said Dawadi.

In three days, the Bird Flu Raid Test Teams will be sent to all poultry farms of Bhaktapur, said Dawadi, and emergency zone will be declared if bird flu is found like that so far and all fowls will be culled and poultry related materials destroyed.

Chief of Livestock Office Khagendra Bhatta said bird flu was being controlled in Bhaktapur and there was no situation to panic. Although it was found in ten places in the past it was not found in new places by midday today, he said.

DG Dr. Ramakrishna Khatiwada told entrepreneurs not to panic but should cooperate to control bird flu.Regional Director Dr. Damodar Sedhain said all teams started works from today and it will come under control in a few days.

 At the programme, the Poultry Association Bhaktapur submitted a nine-point demands including killing poultry only in farms found bird flu and to implement earlier demands, as well as provide compensation of all poultry since collection of samples.

[dothedd]

Vets spared 50‚000 birds‚ say poulterers
BHAKTAPUR: Poultry farmers in Bhaktapur today said the rapid response team assigned to destroy bird flu-infected birds is yet to cull 25 per cent commercial fowls in the district as some farmers have hidden them from the team. “Twenty-five per cent commercial chickens are yet to be culled,” former chairman of Poultry Farmers’ Association (Bhaktapur), Laxman Gwachha. He accused the government of destroying the birds only on farmers’ request and not bothering to cull birds that some farmers had hidden from the team. Gwachha accused the government of failing to cull bird...
Published On: 2013-08-28

Poultry farmers seek compensation
KATHMANDU: A strong debate between poultry entrepreneurs and government officials, organised by Youth Peasants Federation Nepal took place at the Department of Livestock Services (DoLS), today. Talking at the programme, poultry farmers put forward their dissatisfaction with the government’s work in controlling the recent bird flu outbreak. Amid strong controversies, the farmers questioned the cause of the outbreak and said that various foreign forces were behind it. They also asked for proper compensation from the government for disposing the effected chickens. “Young people fro...
Published On: 2013-08-30

Bird flu fear in Pokhara
POKHARA: Fear of bird flu is having an impact on the poultry industry and restaurants in Kaski district. Though Kaski is bird flu-free, poultry traders in Pokhara, a major tourism hub, are seeing a decline in their businesses amid flu rumours. Buddha Gubhaju, a restaurateur, said trade in Pokhara restaurants has gone down 80 per cent amid flu rumours. There is no substantial effect of flu rumours in restaurants at Lakeside, the city’s tourism hub. “Foreigners are having chicken dishes without fear,” said a restaurateur. Prem Prasad Poudel, a meat trader, said flu rumours hav...
Published On: 2013-08-30


Bird flu in Kavre
DHULIKHEL: Bird flu has been confirmed in Kavre villages. According to District Livestock Office, the H5N1 virus has spread to the villages from Kavre’s Nasikasthan, Sanga, Ugratara Jangal, Mahendrajyoti, Dhulikhel, and Panauti. Samples from the poultry farms belonging to Sudarshan Ghimire at Patlekhet-4 and Niranjan Dahal at Ugrachandi Nala VDC-6 had tested positive for bird flu on Friday, the livestock office informed. Dr Hari Kumar Raghu Shrestha said both Ghimire and Dahal’s farms have 700 fowls each. The DLO plans to cull fowls in both farms from Sunday. The avian influenza is...
Published On: 2013-08-31

6‚000 fowls destroyed at Sipadol farm
BHAKTAPUR: The government rapid response team culled chickens at poultry farm belonging to Buddhi Kumar Gorkhali yesterday night. Earlier, Gorkhali was adamant on not letting team officials cull the fowls when they were at his farm at Sipadol-9 a fortnight ago. After his chickens started dying, Gorkhali himself called the rapid response team to destroy the chickens. The rapid response team has culled 6,320 fowls and destroyed 850 kg chicken-feed at Gorkhali’s farm. Bhaktapur Bird Flu Control Section has started destroying domestic birds and bird-related materials to make the district...
Published On: 2013-09-01

[dothedd]

Bird flu fear grips Saptari folk

2013-09-06 11:03 PM

Last Updated At: 2013-09-06 11:03 PM


RAJBIRAJ: Bird flu fear has gripped the people of Chinnamasta village development committee in Saptari district.

Terror struck locals after around 80 fowls brought for sale at Sakhada bazaar from the Launiya-based farm belonging to Subhas Mandal dropped dead one by one today.

As news of the fowls’ death spread, panic struck the people in the VDC and surrounding areas. Police personnel seized the birds and handed them over to the Saptari District Livestock Office.

The office said it found no bird flu virus in the fowls dead and alive.

“They might have died due to some other reason,” said the office Chief Kashinath Yadav.

[Deleted]

The office said it found no bird flu virus in the fowls dead and alive.

“They might have died due to some other reason,”

 Perhaps the chicken littles died of hysteria?

(Not to put too fine a point on it...)

[dothedd]

Of concern to me IS all the chickens, ducks and pigs floating down rivers OVER THERE ... there IS going to be a LOT OF HUNGRY PEOPLE IN THE NOT TOO FAR FUTURE.

ALL IN ALL ... IT HAS TO BE TAKING ITS TOLL ON THE FOOD CHAIN/SUPPLY. 

[dothedd]

Source: The Himalayan Times

by World Poultry Sep 9, 2013   
 
Nepalese poultry industry suffering huge losses  
  
The current outbreak of bird flu in Nepal is reported to have cost the industry Rs 7 billion (US$66 million), according to local estimates.

Nepalese poultry industry suffering huge losses

Thousands of small and large-scale businesses have gone out of business citing insecurity due to the outbreak of H5N1 in the Kathmandu valley and other parts of the country.

The loss in the poultry sector contributes nearly 4% to the country's GDP and is likely to cause a big deficit in the country's economy. Poultry producers have also complained about the lack of appropriate steps to control the bird flu from the government.

Chairman of Eggs Producers' Association Shiva Ram KC said that the years-long efforts of poultry farmers have all been in vein following the bird flu outbreak.

KC said the poultry business in the country was pushed back four decades due to the bird flu outbreak which has prompted a sharp drop in chicken because of rumours spread in the market.

Likewise, Chairman of Nepal Chicken Market Management Association Shankar Kandel said that supply of chicken and eggs to the capital city from Chitwan has dropped to almost zero, whereas the daily supply of chicken from Chitwan to Kathmandu valley used to stand at 15 to 20 tonnes.  

www.worldpoultry.net/Broilers/Markets--Trade/2013/9/Nepalese-poultry-industry-suffering-huge-losses-1356885W/
 

 



 





 

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Banks to restructure poultry loans 

Last Updated At: 2013-09-13 9:44 PM

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE


KATHMANDU: Bird-flu embattled poultry farmers will get much needed relief as financial institutions have planned to go soft on poultry loans.

“Though giving financial relief or subsidising the interest or principal is not Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)’s domain, we have asked financial institutions to consider restructuring poultry loans this time,” said spokesperson for NRB Bhaskar Mani Gyanwali.

Following the outbreak of the avian influenza, the two months of July and August, saw massive culling of chickens and chicks in Kathmandu Valley, Kavre, Chitwan and Hetauda. The authority — Department of Livestock Services — has culled over a million chickens and destroyed 1.2 million units of eggs to stop the virus from spreading. The move has severely affected poultry businesses which apparently have invested billions of rupees. Insurance policies also do not cover the damages caused by such epidemics like bird flu.

“By how much banks are willing to lower interest rates for these loans depends on the banks themselves, but they will decide on such measures based on borrower’s situation,” he said.

Poultry farmers including representatives of Nepal Poultry Federation, Nepal Hatchery Enterprises Association and Nepal Poultry Traders Association have called on the NRB governor and president of Nepal Bankers’ Association to consider lowering the interest rates for their loans.

“Some of the banks have started to lower about two percentage points in interest rate based on the situation of the farmer and entrepreneur, but we have requested all the banks to help us get out of this trouble,” said first vice president of Nepal Poultry Federation Narayan Hari Khatri. “The business is facing a loss of Rs seven billion worth of chickens and eggs due to culling,” he said.

Agriculture Development Bank Ltd (ADBL) — the largest agro based lender — is also preparing a procedure to relax the interest rate for these loans.

“We have yet to decide on the module for providing relief to the farmers and poultry based industries, but troubled loans will be restructured in case of difficulty of payments by the borrowers due to the current situation,” said CEO of ADBL Tej Bahadur Budhathoki. The bank has about Rs two billion financed in the sector.

“But the farmers who are in a difficult situation regarding payback need to first apply at their respective branches and discuss their problems,” he informed.

According to the Bird Flu Control Directive, as compensation a farmer gets Rs 500 for a full grown chicken, Rs 250 for chicken above four weeks, Rs 130 for a chicken below four weeks, and Rs three per egg. “To raise a full grown parent chicken it costs about Rs 2800, so the rate of compensation covers only a fraction of the real expenses. We are all looking into very difficult financial times ahead,” said president of Nepal Hatchery Enterprises Association Shiv Prasad Sharma.

“We have requested all the concerned authorities from the chairman of the interim government Khil Raj Regmi to the division office’s heads of Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture Development, Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, and Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor requesting them to help us in paying interest for the loans and waive the taxes for a few months, which will be a great relief,” said Sharma.