No fewer than 25,000 laying hens are being culled at a poultry farm in Neerkant, where bird flu was discovered on Thursday. That is not only sad, but also very expensive. And those rapidly rising costs are increasingly being coughed up by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Bird flu has been raging in our country for a year now. Unique, since the virus usually disappears in the summer, only to reappear later in the year. Yet there seems to be no end to the bird flu wave and the national confinement obligation, which has been in effect since the beginning of this month.
The list of companies where bird flu has been detected is getting longer and longer. The poultry farm in Neerkant was added this week and we are waiting for the next outbreak.
Millions of chickens have now been culled. An expensive undertaking, especially now that the gas with which the animals are killed is becoming more and more expensive due to the energy crisis.
money pot
The costs for culling are covered by the so-called Animal Health Fund (DGF). This is a money pot that is used to prevent and combat animal diseases.
The jar is filled by the agricultural sector itself, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) and the European Union. Every few years, we look at how much each should contribute.
Here comes the hitch. For the period from 2020 to 2024, it has been agreed that the costs of combating diseases (and therefore also culling chickens after an avian flu outbreak) will be borne entirely by the sector itself. With one important caveat.
Price ceiling
There is a so-called price ceiling of 30 million euros, to keep it manageable for the companies. But with more than two years to go, the clearance costs have now risen to almost double: about 60 million. And the counter continues.
All costs above the ceiling now end up on the government’s plate. It is the harsh reality, admits a spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. “A bird flu like this for a year is exceptional. Unfortunately, that could not have been foreseen at the time the amounts were determined.”
‘Want to be a reliable government’
A case of force majeure. Nevertheless, the ministry continues to support the agreements made, the spokesperson says. “We want to be a reliable government. But we will certainly discuss this for the period after 2024.”
Earlier this month, Minister Piet Adema updated the House of Representatives in a letter to parliament about tackling bird flu. In it he also discusses the clearance costs, which are now paid by the ministry. For this year, those extra costs can be absorbed within the budget.
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