Nagpur: 265 poultry birds, eight peacocks found dead

NAGPUR: The bird flu scare has reached the poultry livestock in Nagpur district too. According to the daily report released by the state’s animal husbandry department, 265 poultry birds were found dead in Nagpur as on Monday. This is the highest toll of the species for the day in the state. The samples have been sent for further tests as the department has also stated that it is perfectly safe to eat eggs and poultry meat if cooked for 30 minutes at temperature of 70 degrees.
Apart from the poultry birds, eight peacocks were also found dead at Khandala village of Yavatmal’s Arni Taluka.
Samples of the national bird have been sent to the national institute of high security animal diseases (NISHAD) at Bhopal by the state’s animal husbandry department for further tests.
Sources in the animal husbandry department said the peacocks were found in the wilderness near the village. The eight birds were lying in close proximity of each other on Sunday afternoon.
So far, apart from poultry, birds of species like parrots, egrets and crows have been found dead with their samples sent for the tests. Sources said this must be the first ever incident of peacocks dying being reported.
Dr Bahar Baviskar, a wildlife veterinarian at NGO WildCER, said, “It would be rare indeed if the peacock samples are found positive. Diseases like bird flu spread faster in the species of birds that roost in large numbers. Peacocks on the other hand live in a smaller group of eight to 10 which includes the same family. There is an interaction between different groups at places like waterholes but generally there is no large-scale mixing up of birds of this species.”
Meanwhile, the animal husbandry department has maintained that no major case in poultry has been reported in entire Vidarbha. No deaths were reported in Nagpur division after the 40 parrots’ carcass was found in Kondhali on Saturday. The Nagpur division includes four districts of eastern Vidarbha.
In Amravati division, apart from peacocks, locals in Akola district had reported of having seen five dead crows. The carcass of only one could be found which was in a decomposed state and not fit for drawing samples, said a source.