Western Cape plans decrease for farmers shock with bird flu

The Western Cape Gov. has approved 36 statuses of avian influenza in the county & has placed 70 ostrich farms under quarantine. "The Western Cape is the worse influenced county in SA. In the Western Cape, the outbreak has shock the Paardeberg area, the zone by the top concentration of poultry farms," he said on Monday. The Western Cape Gov. has convened a joint operations centre, including the provincial section of agriculture, the provincial disaster management centre & the province's section of social development. The Western Cape had earlier approved 26 statuses of the H5N8 strain of avian flu.

Bird influenza costs the Western Cape an estimated R800m in produce losses

Early estimates propose an outbreak of avian influenza has led to produce losses of about R800 mn in the Western Cape, Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said on Monday. "The Western Cape is the worse influenced county in South Africa. Environmental Affairs, native Gov. & Growth Planning MEC Anton Bredell said the provincial disaster management centre (PDMC) was assisting in "managing the crisis". "In addition, the section of Environmental Affairs' Waste Management Unit is ensuring the secure disposal of carcasses on influenced farms. These are some of the great initiatives at the moment."The JOC would Demand the National Disaster Management Centre to declare the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird influenza a provincial disaster.

Avian influenza hits Cape poultry industry

as declared in The poultry industry in the Western Cape is projecting produce losses amounting to R800m because of an outbreak of avian flu. Outbreaks of the deathly virus have been recorded in 6 provinces, putting thousands of jobs on the line. The Western Cape, that is 1 of SA's main agriculture regions, has been the worse affected, according to the provincial government. Farms too must shut drop produce for up to 6 months, When they embark on surveillance & cleaning. A provincial section of agriculture estimate puts the cost of produce losses of hens & eggs in the zone of R800m, not counting extra costs of labour & materials to do composting.

collected by :Lucy William