Cage-free birds that are able to roam freely are exposed to contacts with wild birds, which are the main carriers of HPAI, Sergey Dankvert explained.
He also pointed out that in 2022, 7,600 avian influenza outbreaks were revealed in European countries, and more than 50 million birds were destroyed.
“These losses result from the decision to follow the “greens” – the birds need to walk around and get some fresh air. This is a good, fresh idea, but when almost 50 million birds are destroyed, is it humane indeed? First the bird is taking a walk, then it gets sick and gets strangled,” said Sergey Dankvert.
The Head of the Service also said that 1,080 HPAI outbreaks were revealed in the United States in 2022 and 58.3 million birds were destroyed. In Canada, 1029 outbreaks were reported, and 47.2 million birds were destroyed.
At the same time, the HPAI situation in Russia is more favorable. Seven HPAI outbreaks have been revealed in Russia since the beginning of 2023. Last year, 56 outbreaks were registered in 17 Russian regions, and total losses to HPAI didn’t exceed 1 million birds.
