Bird flu scare: 300 broilers found dead

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 25

Panic gripped the local meat market as about 300 broilers, supplied from Haryana, were found dead as the supply arrived at Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC)-run slaughter house early today.

As a precaution in view of the bird flu scare in adjoining states of Haryana and Punjab, the remaining lot of 2,700 broilers was withheld and not sold.

“It may not be a case of bird flu and the death could have been caused due to extreme cold but we have taken 17 samples for test and the report will come in three to four days,” said SMC Veterinary Public Health Officer Dr Arun Sarkaik.

“The corporation took samples of different kinds of live and dead broilers and sent them to Animal Husbandry Department to get them tested in Jalandhar lab in view of the bird flu cases in Chandigarh,” he added.

He said “it is a normal phenomenon in winters that 50-100 birds die due to extreme cold and as the supply is more during the festival season, the number of deaths is also more and sometimes the birds also die due to overcrowding. But since bird flu cases have been reported in Chandigarh, we have taken samples and sent them for checking,” he added.