AROUND 19,000 LAYING HENS AND DUCKS TO BE CULLED DUE TO BIRD FLU

AMSTERDAM, NOVEMBER 14 /SRNA/ - Avian flu has been confirmed at a farm in the village of Hierden in the eastern Netherlands, which is why around 19,000 laying hens and ducks will be culled, the relevant authorities said.

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority has ordered the culling of 6,000 ducks and 13,000 laying hens to prevent further spread of the disease.

The farm was also hit by avian flu in 2022, Dutch media outlet NOS reported.

There are 14 other poultry farms within a 10-kilometre radius of the infected farm, and an immediate ban has been imposed on the transport of poultry, eggs, manure and animal bedding in the area.

Earlier this week, 165,000 ducks were culled at two other farms in the same village due to avian flu.

The Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority is investigating the spread of the infection across the three farms and trying to determine how the virus reached the farms.

Farms within a three-kilometre radius of the infected premises will be placed under increased surveillance.

Since late October, poultry in the Netherlands have been required to be kept indoors or under protective netting to prevent the spread of avian flu.