Authorities on Wednesday said bird flu virus was not detected in the dead chickens in Satherjhora-8, around 15 km south-west of the two bird flu outbreak sites in Sunsari. It was reportedly claimed that around 500 chickens had died in the past three days in the Satherjhora area from an unknown disease.

“Samples of dead chickens sent to the Regional Laboratory, Biratnagar, have confirmed that the death of the chickens was due to worms, not bird flu,” Chineshwor Meheta, the Animal Health Technician at the District Veterinary Office, said.

A notification issued by the Government of India banning the use of bulls as performing animals has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the adrenaline pumping bullock cart races at the 76th Kila Raipur Games that are slated to kick off at Kila Raipur village in Ludhiana tomorrow. Animal Welfare Board of India, (AWBI), Ministry of Environment and Forests, has written to Subodh Chandra Agrawal, Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab, asking him to ensure bullock cart races are not organised at the Kila Raipur games, also known as mini rural Olympics.

BHUBANESWAR: After the Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) and OUAT, the culling operations were conducted in the wards under the impact zone demarcated for the bird flu prevention and control measures. Eight teams were fanned out to around eight of the 29 wards, where culling is to be undertaken. They managed to kill around 235 birds and destroy 93,496 eggs. There are an estimated 10,000 poultry birds to be killed.

Bhubaneswar: With the culling of over 16,000 poultry birds in the second day, the total birds culled during the two days in the 3km radius of the Central Poultry Development Organisation, Bhubaneswar, has been around 36,000. The culling operation was undertaken in 29 wards within the 3km radius of the CDPO farm after detection of the H5N1 virus and following the advisory from the agriculture ministry to prevent the spread of the avian influenza.

Contrary to its public posturing on the cow, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has swept under the carpet a scam in a Central scheme that saw hundreds of mortalities mainly because old cows were purchased. Kamdhenu Integrated Tribal Dairy Development Scheme, for which the Centre had provided Rs 54.09 crore between 2006 and 2009 to purchase cattle, failed in each of the 11 tribal districts where it was in operation. While a few better breed cows were bought from Haryana, most animals were purchased from cattle fairs in the state or were supplied by the state livestock corporation.

Members of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), engaged in the culling of poultry birds, on Monday faced an embarrassing situation in Bhubaneswar. As they approached households in slums to collect birds to ward off the spread of the avian influenza, they found all houses locked. Frustrated, the RRTs returned emptied handed.

“When we went to different slums to collect birds from their owners, we found most of the houses locked. At some places, we found the birds roaming around but we could not catch them in absence of their owners,” RRT official Dr Ranjan Kumar Sahoo said.

While government authorities on Sunday confirmed the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Khanar and Itahari in Sunsari district, similar outbreaks were reported in Phakphok in Ilam district and Faktep in Panchthar, where more than 400 chickens have died.

However, fowls in the affected areas are yet to be slaughtered, increasing the risk of the infection spreading to other localities.

The Animal Resources Development Department, along with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, on Sunday commenced the culling of poultry birds at the Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) in Bhubaneswar following the advisory from the Union Agriculture Ministry to prevent the spread of the avian influenza (H5N1) virus.

On the first day, an estimated 20,000 birds, including 11,955 chicks, were culled by four Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) at the CPDO, which has nearly 30,000 birds, according to official sources.

BHUBANESWAR: With culling beginning from Sunday, almost half of the City’s central business hub would come under the no-poultry zone for at least three months. Since Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) is the epicentre of the outbreak, a 3-km radius area stretching from Station Square to Baramunda and from Satsang Vihar to Jayadev Vihar, will be off-limits to poultry. According to BMC estimate, at least 29 out of 60 wards would come under the impact zone.

BHUBANESWAR: With the Central advisory in hand, the Odisha Government on Saturday gave a go-ahead to culling of poultry birds in 3-km radius of the Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) here, where the avian influenza was detected yesterday. At the same time, culling will also be taken up at the OUAT bird farm.