Some poultry exports resume, more culling to come

Necessary culling of up to 200,000 hens is being pointed to putting the region on the “right track” to stamping out avian influenza, and allowing some poultry exports to resume.

Biosecurity New Zealand deputy director-general Stuart Anderson says more than 200 staff across MPI are contributing to the response at its operations centre and on the ground in Otago, following the nation’s first case of a strain of avian influenza at Hillgrove Farm, near Moeraki.

“The depopulation, which is being done by Mainland Poultry with support from MPI, is progressing well and is nearly three quarters through. 

“Yesterday, we said we’d depopulate the final layer shed as we expected H7N6 to be found there, and test results now confirm that is the case. 

“Our extensive testing and monitoring of sites with a link to Hillgrove will continue, but to date we’ve not found any signs of HPAI elsewhere. We’ll continue to support the operations at Mainland’s Hillgrove property , with depopulation, cleaning, and decontamination.”

About 160,000 birds have been destroyed across the four contaminated sheds.

A separate facility on the farm that is away from the layer sheds, and houses 40,000 rearing chickens, will also be cleared. That depopulation begins today. 

“International experience tells us there is no other way to manage the risk of spread of this virus other than full farm depopulation, followed by cleaning, and decontamination.

The farm remain under strict biosecurity lockdown.

“MPI officials continue to work to protect as much of the existing trade as possible.  We’re in close contact with the relevant trade partners, and working with them to resume trade, with positive progress being made.

“New Zealand has reached agreement with Australia to continue the export of some poultry products, including chicken meat, dried pet food, and dog rolls that meet avian influenza heat treatment requirements. Australia, like New Zealand, is taking a risk-based approach.

“A key part of MPI’s work is providing trading partners with the necessary assurances to accept our disease and isolation controls, to allow the resumption of safe trade.”

“We’ve moved quickly in the past week to put in restrictions, investigate, track, and test, and I thank the farmer involved and our industry partners for their help – together we’ve made strong progress.

“More than 1,200 samples have been received to date, with hundreds being analysed at a time at our enhanced PC3 laboratory at Wallaceville in Wellington.

“Our response team has more than 200 staff across MPI now involved. We continue to put significant resource into eliminating H7N6, and we are confident we are on the right track to stamp it out,” says Mr Anderson.

There remains no risk to eggs and chicken supply in New Zealand given the size of the national flock, nor any issues for food safety, and the risk to human health remains low.

Main image ( Google Earth): Hillgrove egg farm still under biosecurity lockdown.