Mystery: what the transport ban means for Zoetermeer

taketonews

You may have already seen it: in various places in Zoetermeer there are blue signs with ‘transport ban’ on them. Why is this ban there? And who does this apply to?

You can spot the signs at Van der Hagenstraat and Vaartdreef, among others. It concerns a transport ban for trucks that transport poultry. They are no longer allowed to enter some parts of the city because of the bird flu. The government is concerned that wild birds that have contracted the disease will infect farm poultry (such as chickens and turkeys).

These are the symptoms of bird flu

Bird flu is a contagious disease that affects almost all types of poultry, but also wild bird species. Think of ducks, pigeons and swans. According to the RIVM Bird flu can cause respiratory problems, diarrhea and eye inflammation, among other things. Almost all animals that become infected with bird flu die from this.

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Severe Outbreak

Bird flu is nothing new, but it is more common this year than other years. Professor of comparative pathology Thijs Kuiken told us about this RTL News: “The current variant originated about 25 years ago in poultry in China. But the special thing is that this variant has been transferred to wild birds. The migratory birds come to winter in Europe and spread it. As a result, we hardly have any control over it anymore.”

Obligation to stay in the Netherlands

Because the bird flu is spreading considerably this year, there has been a confinement duty in the Netherlands. The government wants to limit the risk that the virus will pass from wild birds to poultry from farms. In addition, zoos, petting zoos and keepers of hobby birds and chickens must protect their animals as much as possible from wild birds and their bird droppings.

Bird flu in Zoetermeer

If an outbreak of bird flu is detected at a company, this has many consequences. All the company’s animals are culled and the premises are disinfected by experts. It doesn’t stop there: within a radius of 10 kilometers there is a transport ban for all poultry, eggs and manure. This is now the case, for example, at a number of farms in Zoetermeer, such as the Meerpolder.

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