Perak not taking chances
Metro, 23 Feb 2006

IPOH: Perak wants its State Veterinary Department to do whatever is necessary to protect its poultry industry against the bird flu. 

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali said there were 296 poultry farms in the state. 

“Perak is the largest poultry producer in the country,” he said. 

“We don’t want our poultry industry to be crippled,” he told reporters after chairing the exco meeting here yesterday. 

Tajol Rosli was commenting on the death of 40 kampung (free range) chicken caused by the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza at villages along Jalan Genting-Klang in Gombak last week. 

He said he had not received reports of unusual death of birds in the state so far.  “There is no reason for the people to be alarmed,” he said. 

As a long-term measure, poultry farmers should use the modern “closed system” in-stead of the traditional farming method. 

The modern farming method could protect their poultry from being infected with airborne viruses, he said. 

“We are giving the operators until end of this year to comply with our requirement,” he added.