Migratory birds behind bird flu in Kerala, 44, 883 ducks culled so far: State Forest Minister

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 6 : Kerala Forest and Animal Husbandry Minister K Raju said that the bird flu spread in the state is due to migratory birds and 37,654 birds have been culled in Alappuzha and 7,229 birds in Kottayam districts so far.
"Due to the bird flu, 23,857 had died in both districts. The mass culling process of birds will end tomorrow morning. So far only ducks have been killed. The decision was made to kill other domestic birds in the affected areas," he said.
He said the central team would be visiting the state on Thursday and they would mainly look into the possibility of spreading the disease to humans.
"The H5N8 virus, which causes bird flu, is not transmitted to humans. But genetic mutations can happen. So this possibility is also been looked into. The vigil will continue for 10 days in districts that reported bird flu. The ban on the sale of poultry, meat, and eggs will continue in the affected areas," the minister said.
Raju said that compensation to farmers will be distributed immediately based on the amount decided by the state cabinet.
"The government will provide Rs 200 each to owners of birds older than 2 months that either died of the disease or were culled. For those birds less than one-month-old, Rs 100 each will be provided for farmers. Further needs of the farmers will be considered later," he added.