Via Thanh Nien Daily, bad news for those of us who like poultry that run around and eat bugs: Southern Vietnam faces bird flu peril. Excerpt:
Vietnam’s southern provinces face the risk of bird flu outbreaks because of slack control and inoculation of free-ranging waterfowl, delegates told a conference in Vung Tau town Thursday.
Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy head of Ho Chi Minh City’s Animal Health Center, said while provinces reported inoculation of 87% of poultry in the region, the real rate was only 70% at most.
He blamed it on the massive increase in free-range ducks – since the government lifted a ban on waterfowl hatching and rearing in March – for which the provinces had no updated statistics.
Waterfowl numbers in the south have nearly doubled to over 26 million, 24 million of them in the Mekong Delta region, according to Animal Health Department figures.
Most of the 1200 backyard farms in the south are casual about vaccinating their birds.
Delegates blamed their attitude on the lack of deterrent financial penalties – VND2 million (US$124) is the maximum fine.
