Vietnam likely to permit waterfowl hatching next month

Vietnam is likely to allow the hatching of waterfowls nationwide on March 1 after detecting no new bird flu outbreaks for three weeks, local media reported Wednesday.

Under a regulation drafted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country will permit the incubation if raisers meet certain requirements, including strict control over the movement of their fowls, Saigon Liberation newspaper said. A national ban on hatching waterfowls is to expire on Feb. 28, and the new hatching regulation is expected to be officially announced by the end of this month.

Raisers must hatch waterfowls far away from residential areas, register the breeding of ducks and white-winged ducks (similar to ducks but bigger) with communal authorities, and monitor the bird flu vaccination and movement of their poultry closely.

Regarding goose breeding, the fowls must be raised in cages since there have not been any bird flu vaccines for them yet.

Now, over 90 percent of ducks in the southern Mekong Delta are raised freely in fields, rivers and canals, the newspaper said. Many ducks move freely within a province or even several provinces.

By the end of Feb. 13, Vietnam had detected no new bird flu outbreaks for 21 days, meeting criteria for announcing an end to the disease, according to the Department of Animal Health under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,

Bird flu reoccurred in Vietnam last December, hitting a total of 8 southern localities since then. They include Can Tho city and the seven provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Vinh Long, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh.

Bird flu outbreaks in Vietnam, starting in December 2003, have killed and led to the forced culling of dozens of millions of fowls in the country, said the department.

Source:Xinhua