Bird Flu: AP poultry farmers' livelihood at risk

Hyderabad, Mar 19 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh poultry industry suffered a Rs 300-crore loss last month due to the bird flu threat, according to industry sources.

The poultry business ran into rough weather with the outbreak of the virus in Maharashtra last month with sales of chicken and eggs plummeting in Andhra Pradesh.

The Rs 7,000 crore industry providing employment to six lakh families had been badly hit with chicken prices falling to Rs 20 from Rs 60 and egg costs down to 20 paisa from Re one.

According to the estimates, 25,000 poultry farmers and 15,000 chicken shop owners depending on poultry have been affected.

State Poultry Breeders Association President Ram Reddy warned ''poultry farmers will commit suicides if the situation continued next month.

''Farmers have lost their livelihood due to the H5N1 scare in the state and fallen into debt trap.'' Mr Reddy said the government had the responsibility to create awareness among people that consuming chicken was safe and provide immediate relief to the poultry farmers by allocating short term loans to them.

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