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ARCHIVED - Bird flu leads to poultry farm confinement in Murcia
Farms in eight municipalities in the Region are subject to restrictions
With the highly contagious avian influenza ravaging parts of Europe since last year, the Region of Murcia has taken the precaution of confining chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese on poultry farms in eight municipalities to prevent them from coming into contact with wild birds.
The deadly bird flu has already been discovered in Portugal and the south of France, and earlier this month several wild swans were found dead in Catalonia, prompting the Ministry of Agriculture to raise the alert level.
Farms in Cartagena, Lorquí, Mazarrón, Molina de Segura, San Pedro del Pinatar, San Javier, Los Alcázares and Torre Pacheco will for the time being be forced to house their poultry indoors or install protective screens to keep wild birds out of reach. These municipalities in particular have a wide abundance of wetlands and lagoons which serve as an ideal habitat for many bird species, several of which are migratory, increasing the risk of infection.
In addition to preventing farm fowl from accessing untreated water sources, “the presence of poultry or other captive birds in livestock competitions, samples, exhibitions and cultural celebrations, as well as any concentration of birds, is prohibited throughout the area of the Murcia region,” according to the local Ministry of Livestock.
There are more than 580 poultry farms in the Region of Murcia and 130 are located in the Campo de Cartagena region. Bird flu outbreaks are mainly caused when migratory birds come in contact with farmed poultry, usually through food or water.
The Ministry has reassured that there is practically zero chance of people contracting bird flu, “since there is almost never such close contact between birds and human beings” in Spain and the rest of Europe.
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