‘They isolate themselves, fear he will enter’: LTO sees poultry farmers suffering from bird flu

Keeping strangers out of the yard, showering multiple times a day, and constant fear: when will it be my turn? The LTO Farmers’ Association sees poultry farmers struggling with bird flu.

We are dealing with the largest and longest avian flu epidemic ever. For the first time, poultry were infected for a full year, even outside the bird migration season. And the end doesn’t seem in sight: with a possible new variant of the virus, there’s a chance it could only get worse.

‘Very sad feeling’

Poultry farmer Sijds Dijkstra from Zeewolde had to deal with it a year ago. Bird flu broke out on his farm in October 2021, making him the first of the new wave. “We got a call Monday morning from our employee who said there was an abnormal amount of leaking among the chickens. Won’t that be? I thought then.”

But it was true, his 36,000 organic laying hens were gassed and that hit hard. It was already the second culling of her, also in 2013 the avian flu broke out in her stable. “You see a shovel with containers and the animals are just thrown into those containers. I still have that image in my head. It’s a very sad feeling.”

‘It can’t go on like this forever’

There have been around 90 outbreaks in the Netherlands since October last year. About 5 million infected chickens have been culled. Of these, 1 million birds were culled to prevent further spread of the avian flu virus, for example to locations within 1 kilometer of an infected farm.

For example, chickens from a second barn of the Dijkstra poultry farm were culled as a preventative measure, even though the animals were not sick. “Then something is wrong and it can’t go on forever. We’re stuck.”

Invisible enemy

Poultry farmers in the Netherlands have been living under high tension for a year, according to Kees de Jong, president of the poultry department of the Netherlands Organization for Agriculture and Horticulture (LTO). He talks about it with many poultry farmers.

“It’s a constant fight against an invisible enemy. We still don’t know exactly how you get into the barn. Could it be the dust or a poop on the roof splashing in with the rain? It’s a kind of Russian roulette for Dutch farmers’ poultry: When it touches to me?”

‘They isolate themselves’

According to De Jong, the severe avian flu epidemic is causing poultry farmers to isolate themselves and do everything possible to prevent the virus from entering them.

“Poultry farmers always met in study circles, but you don’t see it anymore, they don’t dare to come anymore. They are all afraid: just imagine that I get something from a colleague and that my company is cleared through customs?”

“Like an intensive care unit”

Dutch poultry have been in cages for most of the year and are therefore not allowed to go out. Farmers are taking far-reaching measures to keep the virus out of the barn. The farm gates are locked, shoes are disinfected every time they come in and out, and even the staff must shower every time they care for the animals to minimize the risk of contamination.

“We are like an intensive care unit. And between barn and barn you make sure there is no contact. As a farmer you check your animals a certain number of times a day and every time you have to take all these measures,” says De Jong. .

New chickens

Poultry farmer Sijds Dijkstra received new chickens on his farm in the summer. They have been kept “safe” ever since. But since he is an organic poultry farmer, he prefers to see his chickens outdoors all year round.

Unfortunately, with the wave of winter flu just around the corner, these chickens will likely never see the light. “The standard is 25 chickens per hectare. This is 4.5 hectares of land and now I’m not doing anything about it.”

Vaccine

Dijkstra and De Jong of LTO agree: there is a future for the poultry sector only with an avian flu vaccine. However, some steps still need to be taken: “The countries we supply a lot to, Germany and England, are critical of a vaccine.”

“It was like that in the Netherlands, but now we realize that we have to take steps, because we can’t do that anymore,” says De Jong. Dijkstra also thinks it’s time for action: “We’ve seen with the crown how quickly they can make a vaccine. So if people really want it, you can get something like this within a few years.”