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Bird flu alarm in Brandenburg: Crane deaths are taking on dramatic proportions!
Brandenburg is fighting against bird flu: Over 1,800 cranes died, an acute danger to poultry and wild birds.
Bird flu alarm in Brandenburg: Crane deaths are taking on dramatic proportions!
Bird flu is currently causing serious concern in Brandenburg. In mid-October, over 1,800 cranes lost their lives in the Linum pond landscape near Fehrbellin (Ostprignitz-Ruppin district). The situation has been described as dramatic and further deaths are expected to increase as well as a rapid spread of the virus in Central Europe. This reports maz-online.de.
The State Office for the Environment has already identified an acute risk of infection for great bustards and other bird species, including waterfowl, corvids and birds of prey. Poultry farms along wild bird flight routes are also at risk. In order to counteract this, most Brandenburg districts and independent cities have decided on compulsory stables, with the exception of the Oderspreewald-Lausitz. This means that poultry must now be kept in closed stables or under special protective devices.
The measures taken by the state government
The Brandenburg state government is not planning a general requirement for stables for the entire state for the time being. Agriculture Minister Hanka Mittelstädt is initially relying on voluntariness and emphasizes that a nationwide requirement to have stables is currently not viewed as appropriate. Instead, hygiene standards in companies should be increased to prevent another outbreak.
The upcoming period of bird migration, particularly geese and ducks, could further aggravate the situation. This bird flu is not a new phenomenon, but has been occurring in Germany for years and carries the risk of being transmitted from wild birds to breeding animals. In the event of an infestation, it is common practice for all animals in the affected herd to be killed. On the positive side, however, it should be mentioned that infection of humans only occurs in very rare cases.
The developments surrounding bird flu show how important it is to act proactively and preventively in order to protect poultry farming and thus agriculture in Brandenburg. The focus now is on being vigilant at all times and optimizing the measures taken to address this health threat. Farmers need to prepare because as the saying goes: prevention is better than cure!