Poultry farmer Rob van Gorkum from 2nd Valthermond is shocked that bird flu has broken out at a colleague less than three kilometers away. Last night it was announced that more than 200,000 broilers are being culled at that company in Nieuw-Weerdinge.
But at the same time, according to Van Gorkum, it doesn’t really come as a surprise. “Bird flu is in nature around us. So the risk is there every day, it’s just a little closer,” he says. “Normally it’s a little voice in the back of your head, but now it’s really there.”
Van Gorkum was called by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority about the outbreak a village away. “I was told that I fall within the so-called 3-kilometer zone. At first you think: okay, what can I do now?” There is now a transport ban in a zone of ten kilometers around the affected company. This means that there are restrictions in that area for the transport of, for example, chickens and eggs.
NVWA employees immediately visited Van Gorkum last night to take samples from his stable. “I have a somewhat smaller company with 15,000 broilers,” he says. “I will probably get the results this afternoon, but it looks very healthy here.” According to Van Gorkum it is normal that there is always some ‘dropout’. This means that there are a few dead chicks in the house. “But I have no reason to believe that anything is going on right now.”
Van Gorkum does not know how the bird flu has penetrated to his colleague in Nieuw-Weerdinge. According to him, that company is ‘an example company’. “It’s so elusive,” he says. “We all have no idea. We all try to be very hygienic, but it can be due to vermin or the wind with feces from wild birds.”
Vaccination is the only solution against bird flu, says Van Gorkum. “Because I think that all our measures are already fairly exhausted,” he sighs. “We can’t protect our barns other than by vaccinating.” The poultry farmer from 2nd Valthermond does not know when that would be possible. “Tests are now being done and there were some trade barriers. But the European Union and the World Health Organization are still going to talk about that.”
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