Bird flu in Dachau: farmers on alert!

Bird flu in Dachau: farmers on alert!

A current observation worries animal owners in the Dachau district: a dead wild goose with bird flu was found in Ampermoching, which puts the region directly in the focus of the animal disease. How Mercury reported, the lowest warning level has currently been declared, but the authorities are alarmed. District office spokeswoman Sina Török and Simon Sedlmair, chairman of the Bavarian Farmers' Association, call for precautionary measures, but emphasize that it is not necessary to lock up the chickens.

The bird flu virus HPAIV (H5N1) has not only spread in the Dachau district, but is also spreading throughout Germany and Europe. Loud ZDF Bird flu is present all year round, but takes on new dimensions during the autumn bird migration. In Baden-Württemberg in particular, 15,000 animals were recently killed in a poultry farm, and thousands of cranes have already fallen victim to the consequences of this infection. The Friedrich Loeffler Institute estimates the risk of further outbreaks of the animal disease to be high.

Farmers face a challenge as they have to protect the health of their animals while maintaining sales conditions. There are great concerns at the Schmibaur Hof in Sulzemoos, which has been keeping free-range chickens since 2013. The Schmid family, who have been running the farm for generations, have a total of 4,000 chickens and offer not only fresh eggs, but also products such as eggnog and pasta. In the event of an outbreak, all animals would have to be killed - an absolute catastrophe for the family and the associated economic uncertainty is the order of the day. A possible outbreak would not only endanger the animals, but also the supply of their catering and retail customers.

Experts agree that biosecurity measures are essential to curb the spread of bird flu. It is advised that you never touch dead or sick wild birds. This warning is from daily news which emphasizes that the population is currently not at particular risk of serious illnesses. Nevertheless, the hygiene rules in poultry farming should be strictly followed and contacts between domestic poultry and wild birds should be minimized.

To further aggravate the situation, autumn is not only the time of colorful leaves, but also the time of bird flu-related risk. The Federal Ministry has already submitted applications for increased compensation payments for culled animals in order to reduce the economic losses that endanger animal owners. The total number of farm animals killed in Germany due to bird flu since the beginning of the year is already over 200,000.

Looking forward, the Schmids hope for a quick and productive solution. From covered winter gardens designed to ensure the chickens' well-being and provide them with fresh air, to the strict hygiene measures they enforce, they show a good hand. As long as the protection of the animals is their top priority and external threats are averted, they want to give their chickens freedom so that their products can be marketed as free-range eggs. If the authorities act in time and the population takes the risk seriously, perhaps something worse could be prevented.