The office of Gov. Lilia Pineda said this agreement was reached during last Tuesday’s meeting between Agriculture Sec. Manny Piñol and the poultry raisers in the seven-kilometer “controlled zone.”
Earlier, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) issued a memorandum circular prohibiting poultry raisers in the controlled zone from selling their chickens as well as other poultry products such as eggs.
Already, some 200,000 chickens and other fowls within ground zero in Barangay San Carlos, San Luis are being gassed up and buried in the area.
BAI officials here said the 36 poultry owners agreed to have their poultries “depopulated” since they are barred from selling their chickens and other poultry products anyway.
Piñol described this as a “positive development” as depopulating chickens in the controlled zone would create a “buff er” that would ensure against the spread of avian flu.
Piñol said he has asked the Philippine Army to deploy some 100 soldiers to help in culling the 600,000 chickens in the controlled zone, even as the Central Luzon police vowed to also assist in providing security and enforce regulations within and near the avian flu zones.
