Saturday, January 08, 2022
Industry warns of avian influenza
Free range eggs could be running out soon
In the shadow of the corona pandemic, a new wave of bird flu is currently spreading across Europe. As a result, free-range eggs could soon become rare in the trade, believes the German poultry industry. Because in order to protect the animals, it is compulsory to stay in a stable.
According to the German poultry industry, free-range eggs could become scarce as a result of the rampant avian influenza. “At the moment we will still be able to ensure the supply of meat and eggs,” said the President of the Central Association of the German Poultry Industry (ZDG), Friedrich-Otto Ripke, to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “But there may be a shortage of free-range eggs.”
According to this, chickens that run outdoors in an area threatened by the avian influenza virus have to go into the barn. If this stipulated stalling requirement lasts longer than 16 weeks, the eggs you lay may only be sold as barn eggs. According to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, the strongest avian influenza epidemic to date is currently taking place in Europe. The epidemic – also known colloquially as bird flu – is highly contagious for domestic fowl.
“A total of around 400,000 animals had to be killed in Germany in the past few months,” said Ripke. He reckons that the virus wave will develop as badly as it did last year when a million animals had to be culled. “As in the previous year, we expect damage to the poultry industry of more than 30 million euros.”
Ripke again called for a vaccine to be developed. A vaccination is the most promising method in the fight against the virus. “The federal government urgently needs to make research funds available so that a vaccine can be developed quickly.”
Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is an infectious disease, especially among water birds, which migratory birds often spread over long distances. There had already been a serious epidemic in Germany and Europe from autumn 2020 to spring 2021.