TN Govt rules out Bird Flu in district

Theni, Feb 3: The recent mass deaths of broilers in poultry farms in this district of Tamil Nadu was not due to bird flu, said S Madhan Mohan, Joint Director of Animal Husbandry, Government of Tamil Nadu.

Talking to newspersons here today, he said the deaths of hundreds of fowls in poultry farms was due to starvation. The samples of fowl carcasses dumped in Devadhanapatti and Karattupatti villages in Theni District, sent to Bhopal for clinical analysis revealed that the birds died of starvation and not due to bird flu in West Bengal.

Panic gripped the district after the findings of dumping of hundreds of fowls in Devadhanapatti and Karattupatti villages and about possible outbreak of avian flu.

Mr Madhan said poultry farm owners in the district, who were inclined to establish new farms to purchase tested hybrid chickens, were advised by the department to frequently check their birds to prevent attack.

The owners of two poultry farms were arrested on charges of disposing dead fowls in an unhealthy manner and action would be initiated against the owners, who dump them on roadsides, villages and water bodies, among others, he added.

UNI