Around 6,500 birds raised in and around the Government Duck farm at Niranom —the hub of duck farming in upper Kuttanad—will be culled over the next couple of days to control a bird flu outbreak that has struck the region.
The decision was reached at a meeting chaired by Pathanamthitta District Collector S. Prem Krishnan on Monday, after tests confirmed presence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) virus at the duck farm.
At the meeting, it was decided to designate the area within one-km radius around the farm as infected zone, and the area within 10-km radius as survival zone. All birds within the infected zone will be culled, while those within the survival zone will be monitored. Subsequently, a disinfection drive will be carried out across duck farms in the region.
Harikrishnan, District Animal Husbandry Officer, said the culling operation was slated to commence at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. “As many as five teams will be deployed at the farm to cull the bird stock, which consists of around 4,050 birds, including ducklings. The one-km zone surrounding the farm has approximately 2,500 ducks,” he said.
He said the majority of the major duck farms in the village were just outside the infected zone.
With a substantial stock of the germplasm of the local duck species at the farm slated for destruction as part of the drive, authorities are now grappling with the challenge of conserving the germplasm of the ‘Chara’ duck variety.
“We have sufficient ducklings of all other local varieties at the Duck Hatchery and Training Institute at Manjady situated outside the infected zone. However, the germplasm of the Chara species is scarcely available in the State and will need to be sourced from elsewhere,” explained an official.
The duck farmers of upper Kuttanad are a worried lot after the outbreak of this highly contagious virus. They recall previous outbreaks that resulted in the culling of tens of thousands of birds and significant economic loss.
Duck farming, second only to paddy cultivation, is a cornerstone of many villages across the backwater landscape here. Several households in the region keep at least a few ducks in their backyards, which serve as a consistent source of income for numerous families and are fundamental to their food security, as well as providing employment opportunities for local people.
