THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The cabinet meeting held on Wednesday decided to give compensation to poultry farmers in the affected areas in the wake of mass culling of birds in Alappuzha and Kottayam.
A bird more than two-month-old will be given Rs 200 compensation while it would be Rs 100 for birds less than two-month-old. Rs 5 will be given to an egg destroyed as part of containing the virus outbreak.
In the areas, where birds were culled and killed the authorities will hold 10-day strict monitoring. The officials will also test samples in the area.
The state animal husbandry department has decided to cull 46,000 birds from the affected areas and another 12,000 birds from neighbouring areas if needed.
The examination of samples at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal confirmed the presence of the H5N8 strain of the virus in the ducks.