Bentheim County
Bird flu was detected on a large farm with 436,000 animals
This is the single largest company affected by bird flu in Lower Saxony this year. It is still unclear how many animals will have to be killed in the Bentheim region.
Bird flu has been detected on a large farm with a total of 436,000 animals in the Grafschaft Bentheim district. The Friedrich Loeffler Institute detected the highly contagious H5N1 virus variant in one of its laying hen pens, a district spokesperson said.
It is currently unclear how many animals should be killed for disease protection reasons. This disease was only found in one cage. The company has a total of nine cages with laying hens and one cage with around 83,000 pullets. The district is now discussing how to proceed with the Department of Agriculture in Hanover, the spokesperson said.
As a rule, according to EU regulations, the entire animal population on a farm must be killed. However, exceptions can be made if it can be ensured that the disease cannot spread to other cages. Monitoring of the remaining animals and their sampling must be increased significantly, a ministry spokesman said. Whether such an exception is possible is currently being examined.
“An outbreak in a company of this size is a special challenge for us,” said district veterinarian Hermann Kramer. It’s about the lives of thousands of animals.
dpa
