26 October 2005

ABU DHABI/RAS AL KHAIMAH -- Poultry farms in the UAE are free of avian flu and not a single case suspected of being infected with the deadly pandemic has been detected so far, Shaikh Hamid bin Khadim Al Hamid, President of the UAE Poultry Producers Union, said yesterday.

He said the union was committed to a unified policy towards measures taken by the government and the National Emergency Committee to combat avian bird flu in poultry in the country.

Samples were being collected from poultry farms on a daily basis and sent to labs for analysis, he said, adding that the Union would report any suspect case to the National Emergency Committee immediately.

He said that all workers at farms and even office employees, who have no direct contact with the poultry, are subject to strict control and watch.

He said there were orders to isolate any case where symptoms of fever or sneezing surfaces. The union had decided to put a mark indicating that the product was local to facilitate easy identification for consumers in local markets.

Ruling out any hike in chicken prices, Shaikh Al Hamed said prices of chicken were fixed in 1996 and there has been no change in it till today.

Stating that the main objective of the Union was to protect the consumers and not to earn millions in profits, he said some companies were obliged to pay fines due to cancellation of some dealings they had agreed upon as a result of ban. Such companies did so as part of their commitment to the government policy in this regard, he added.

The Netherlands, Germany, the US, France and Brazil were among the major exporters of frozen chicken to the UAE, and so far not included in the ban list.

Dr Al Rasheed Dafallah, Director-General of Al Salkwa Company, said the surveillance on poultry farms and the law governing the establishment of the facilities, which call for building them outside residential and populated areas, itself is to ensure protection to residential areas.

Meanwhile, bird traders and breeders here have reacted differently to news of the avian flu pendemic but they agree on the basics -- its causes and methods of prevention.

Also, some traders have reported a sharp drop in sales as customers have started to refrain from buying bird for food as well as for recreation purposes. "I have got to know some information on the disease from TV and other media," Mohammed Sabir, a manager of birds shop, said.

Sabir uses no pesticide or any other prevention measure in his shop, although he knows that it its a very contagious disease and could be transmitted from birds to human beings.

"I know that, but nobody from the municipality or other government bodies directed us to do so," he said.

He complained of a worrying drop in the number of his customers. "We have witnessed a perturbing drop in the number of customers," he said, adding: "And a large number of bird breeders have started to get rid of their stocks on a daily basis. Scores of people flood the market everyday to sell off their birds, and even pet animals."

The RAK Bird Market, located under the RAK Bridge, consists of a number of shops that sell different kinds of birds, from chickens to ducks to turkeys and pigeons besides pet animals like rabbits, dogs and cats.

All Hassan Mohammed Abdurahman, anther shop manager, has heard about bird flu, that the authorities in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain have taken some precautionary measures to control it. "Our friends and colleagues there told us that public health authorities have ordered them to take some measures to help in controlling the disease," he said.

"I don't care about what is being said in the media about the avian flu and I like birds and breeding them is my hobby," a UAE national told Khaleej Times on condition of anonymity. "I breed birds in large numbers in my house and in my date palm garden. As far as I know nobody here has got rid of his birds."

He said he was to take into his care any number of birds that others are trying to get rid off.

Meanwhile, a large number of people living along the emirate's seashore have called on the authorities to help them get rid of the migratory birds in the area. A large number of migratory birds, flying in from the northern hemisphere, flock the RAK shores in winter every year. UAE national Ahmed Rashid Al Mansowir called on the RAK Police Air Wing to extend help to rid the shores of the birds. 

By Atef Hanafi and Sadik S. Salam

© Khaleej Times 2005