Bird flu chaos: Farmers demand uniform stable requirements in Brandenburg!

Bird flu chaos: Farmers demand uniform stable requirements in Brandenburg!

In recent weeks, the rapid spread of bird flu in Germany has caused considerable unrest among poultry farmers and in agricultural policy. Henrik Wendorff, the president of the Brandenburg farmers, has emphasized the need for a more uniform approach to protective measures against the disease. “The protection against epidemics does not end at the district border,” explains Wendorff, criticizing the different approaches of the districts with regard to the obligation to keep stables, which in some regions only applies to commercial owners and not to private owners. This gives the impression of a real patchwork of approaches to protecting animals and the population.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture explains that the districts should remain responsible for implementing the protective measures. The requirement to have stables will be gradually extended to all districts. From Wednesday, the stable requirement applies in the districts of Ostprignitz-Ruppin, Prignitz, Spree-Neiße as well as in Cottbus and Potsdam. In the Oberhavel district, poultry farmers have had to keep stables since yesterday.

The spread of bird flu

But that's just the beginning. More than 200,000 animals, including chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys, have already been killed due to bird flu. The situation is described as “depressing”, especially because thousands of cranes have died. Over 1,000 dead cranes were recovered in northern Brandenburg, making the trade in eggs and poultry meat increasingly difficult, according to the Borkener Zeitung, which reports on criticism of the unequal handling.

A spokesman for the Central Association of the German Poultry Industry (ZDG) has warned of possible supply bottlenecks for eggs and poultry meat. ZDG President Hans-Peter Goldnick calls for a debate about vaccination strategies and adjustments to animal disease law, as other countries also refuse to import products from vaccinated poultry. The Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) has upgraded the risk of further outbreaks to “high”, pointing to the alarming infection rates.

Perspectives and solutions

At least there are rays of hope in the darkness of the epidemic: special vaccines against bird flu are already being used in France, but they are not yet generally approved in the EU. In this country, unconventional solutions still have to be resorted to. Many poultry farmers are calling for the push to introduce a nationwide requirement for stables because the danger to the animals is growing every day.

Nevertheless, the risk to people is currently low. Although the risk of transmission to humans cannot be ruled out, there are currently no known cases of H5N1 in humans in Germany. It is generally advised to avoid contact with dead birds to prevent possible virus spread. The Greens in the Bundestag also see the spread of bird flu as a structural problem in factory farming. It is clear: bird flu remains a serious issue that keeps the entire industry on tenterhooks.

The fight against bird flu will continue and it remains to be hoped that coordinated measures and perhaps early vaccination strategies can control the spread of the disease.