Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 19) – Poultry farm owners are protesting the culling operations in Nueva Ecija, where cases of bird flu were reported in the towns of Jaen and San Isidro.
Martha Tamayo, owner of a farm in Jaen where over 9,000 quails have died due to the bird flu, said the culling operations will affect her livelihood.
“Kami lang naman po, Ma’am. Dun yung aming pugo…ilang metro lang naman eh kung may epidemya hayaan lang naman ‘yan. Nakapagtataka bukod tangi po yung amin,” said Tamayo.
[Translation: We’re just a few meters away from the infected farm; if birds there are sick, they should just let us be. It’s puzzling why they’re singling us out.]
The Department of Agriculture (DA) vowed to cull over 89,000 quails, 10,000 ducks, and 7,000 chickens within the 1-km radius to avoid the spread of the virus.
Over a hundred soldiers have been deployed in the province to help in the culling operations.
Magdalena Nagum, another quail farm owner, expressed the same sentiment, as the authorities said they will cull more than 32,000 quails in her farm.
“Para na nila kaming pinatay. Yung mga pinag-aaral ko paanong gagawin ko, yung utang ko sa bangko?” Nagum said.
[Translation: They’re killing us. What will happen to those I’m sending to school, my bank loans?]
DA Central Luzon Regional Director Roy Abaya said they expected the resistance from farm owners.
However, he said the government will help the farmers through the survival recovery program.
“Livelihood program sa DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development). Sa DA ino-offeran natin sila na every chicken o duck 80 per head, sa pugo 10 pesos per head. Maliban sa loaning program na offer namin sa kanila. Interest free loan,” Abaya said.
[Translation: We’re offereing them P80 per head for chickens and ducks and P10 per head for quails. We’re also offereing them a loan program, which is free of interest.]
In San Luis, Pampanga, where the first bird flu outbreak in the country was earlier reported, Abaya said about 300 soldiers have culled more than 115,000 birds within the 1-km, and more than 215,000 within the 7-km radius.
Meanwhile, the government said they are “closely monitoring” the situation in Nueva Ecija.
“We ask our people to remain calm yet vigilant and to refrain from spreading unverified information that may cause undue alarm and panic,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on Saturday over the radio.
He added the bird flu is transferred through respiratory means, and that properly cooked chicken meat and eggs are safe to eat.
“As of this time, there has been no report of bird-to-human contamination in the Philippines,” Abella said.
