Avian influenza outbreak not yet over, an open-air goose farm in Yunlin suspected of infection
Temperatures have dropped recently, and avian flu outbreaks have been reported once again. A goose farm in Yunlin reported an abnormality yesterday. The owner brought in about 5,000 geese in February, and 300 died. By this afternoon or tomorrow at the earliest, it will be known whether they are infected with avian flu.
Yunlin County Magistrate Li Chin-yung only spoke out to the Council of Agriculture in early April, hoping goose farmers could resume raising geese as soon as possible. Moreover, even the animal testing institute's poultry house, which uses a water-curtain closed system, became infected with avian flu, so the Council of Agriculture should rethink whether non-open-style poultry houses are absolutely necessary. Chang Shu-hsien, Director-General of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Council of Agriculture, said the virus is still present in the environment, and if farmers rush to resume raising poultry, the outbreak could happen again.
The goose farm suspected of infection still uses open-style farming
Chang Shih-chung, Director of the Agriculture Department of Yunlin County, said the goose farm is located in Dongshi, Yunlin, and no outbreak had been reported there previously. The batch of geese suspected of infection was brought in around February. It should not be that the breeding geese carried the virus, otherwise it would not have taken two months to break out. It may be that the virus still exists in the environment, or that it was transmitted by migratory birds; the cause cannot be determined.
Chang Shu-hsien said the goose farm uses open-air farming. There had been no outbreak previously; it was simply that after raising a batch, more geese were brought in, which does not count as resuming raising. Those who report proactively can receive culling compensation; however, there are avian flu cases within 1 to 3 km of the goose farm, "and very close to the 1 km point," showing that there is still a lot of virus in the environment. She urged farmers not to rush to raise poultry and to switch to non-open-style systems as soon as possible, otherwise the avian flu outbreak, which has barely eased, could happen again.
Yunlin County Government promotes combining solar panels with poultry houses for resuming production
A few days ago, Yunlin County Magistrate Li Chin-yung questioned the Council of Agriculture: since even the water-curtain closed-system poultry house at the animal testing institute could become infected with avian flu, what is the point of requiring farmers to adopt non-open-style poultry houses?
Chang Shih-chung explained that the county government agrees with high-standard epidemic prevention, but hopes to take goose farmers' livelihoods into account. Farmers are now idle at home, and the Council of Agriculture requires that resuming production must use non-open-style or closed-system poultry houses. Raising 1,500 geese costs more than 3.5 million yuan, and perhaps 2,700 to 3,000 farmers in Yunlin cannot resume production, so they hope to find a path everyone can take, and also provide an exit-from-livestock-farming measure for farmers who cannot resume production.
The Yunlin County Government suggests working with solar power companies to install solar panels on the roofs of poultry farms so farmers can increase their income. Chang Shih-chung said some companies have responded that if the Bureau of Energy cancels the bidding model and maintains a certain feed-in tariff, they would be willing to help farmers build poultry houses for free. The county government will discuss this with the Council of Agriculture and the Bureau of Energy.
Council of Agriculture insists on non-open-style poultry houses
The Economics Committee of the Legislative Yuan reviewed the Council of Agriculture's budget unfreezing case today. Many legislators questioned whether the Council of Agriculture's avian flu prevention had failed, but Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji emphasized, "It is not that avian flu has occurred again; it is gradually decreasing. Previously, from January 9 to 20, 40 to 50 farms were added in a day, and now it has gradually decreased." The newly added suspected abnormal case in Yunlin does not mean failure; just like human flu, saying the outbreak has eased does not mean no one is infected anymore.
He emphasized that resuming production has certain standards, and in the future, raisers will be required to take classes and must implement measures and facilities properly. Although non-open-style farming may still lead to infection, it can reduce risk.
Legislator Huang Wei-cher was worried that farmers may not be able to endure stopping production for two or three months and may raise poultry secretly for their livelihoods, which would be even more detrimental to epidemic prevention. The Council of Agriculture should have accompanying measures and not let farmers' finances collapse; Chen Bao-ji promised to think of appropriate measures to protect farmers' livelihoods.