The latest outbreak in Haripad is the fifth outbreak of avian influenza in the region in the past eight years. Several duck farmers have already moved onto new pastures.
The latest outbreak in Haripad is the fifth outbreak of avian influenza in the region in the past eight years. Several duck farmers have already moved onto new pastures.
Devarajan Kochuparambil, a second-generation duck farmer from Karuvatta, near Haripad, has found himself in a predicament for the third time in less than two years. He was one of the first to suffer significant losses when the Kuttanad region got walloped by the bird flu (H5N8) outbreak in December-January (2020-21). Avian flu (H5N1) revisited the region eleven months later and hit his farm for the second time on the trot. His attempt to recoup the business is now hanging by a thread with the detection of a fresh bout of bird flu (H5N1) in the region earlier this week.
“It is a dreadful situation,” says Mr. Kochuparambil referring to the recent outbreak at Vazhuthanan in Haripad municipality. “All the previous outbreaks, though detected at a place, had gone on to sweep almost the entire region. I have 9,300 ducklings (30 days old) and another 3,000 egg-laying ducks. Though my birds look healthy for the time being, I fear the worst,” says the seasoned farmer.
Fewer than 1,000 farmers
His fear arises from two scenarios. One is the possibility of his birds getting infected and the other is an outbreak within a 1-km radius of his farm, which could result in the culling of his entire flock. The latest is the fifth outbreak of avian influenza in the region in the past eight years. Recurring outbreaks cast a shadow over the sustainability of traditional duck farming practices in Kuttanad. Several duck farmers have already moved onto pastures new, putting duck farming in the backwater region at a crossroads. By some accounts, fewer than 1,000 big duck farmers are engaged in the business now, raising anywhere between 10 lakh and 15 lakh birds each season.
The farmers raise ducks (Chara and Chembally — two local breeds) with an eye on Christmas and Easter seasons. The latest outbreak, which resulted in the death/culling of around 20,000 ducks, has directly affected a couple of farmers but made a wider impact with district administration banning the movement, sale, and use of duck and other domestic birds in the region.
Hand-feeding ducks
“Ducks are voracious eaters and they need to be taken to harvested paddy fields for foraging. Due to restrictions, I am forced to hand-feed my birds resulting in additional costs,” says Xavier M., a duck farmer from Cheruthana. Farmers have urged the government to increase compensation and timely distribution of it along with setting up a biosafety level 3 laboratory in the region.
A. Jalaludeen, former Director of Academics and Research, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, terms the situation in Kuttanad “alarming”. “Frequent avian flu outbreaks are spelling doom for duck farming in Kuttanad. Local breeds going extinct is a possibility,” he says.
