Bird flu makes Vietnam change poultry production
VIETNAM - Bird flu, starting to strike Vietnam in late 2003, has prompted the country to re-zone its fowl breeding sector with focus on establishing large concentrated farms, slaughterhouses and markets.Vietnam, in which poultry used to be raised almost everywhere, both rural and urban areas, even adjacent to houses, has already banned the breeding of fowls in inner areas of major cities and towns.
The ban has been enforced in such big localities as Hanoi capital, northern Ha Long city, southern Ho Chi Minh City, and central Nha Trang city. The country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development asked other localities to apply the ban no later than 2007.
Under the ministry's stipulation, farms with 500 breeding hens upward or at least 1,000 commodity fowls must be built far way from residential areas, schools, national roads and hospitals, while raising waterfowls freely in fields or canals without cages and fences are prohibited. Egg-hatching facilities must be at least 500m away from animal raising areas and houses.
Seeing that bird flu had spread very quickly among freely- raised fowls, especially ducks, and that it was very difficult to control the disease or develop the animal raising sector when poultry were bred at small scale in a scattered way among households, the ministry is promoting the three modes of poultry breeding: industry, semi-industry and farming household with focus on the first two modes.
Source: Peoples Daily Online
21 June 2006
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