Small poultry farmers demand compensation for chicken sale ban

Small poultry farmers should be compensated for losses arising from Abu Dhabi's ban on live chicken sales, the UAE Poultry Association said.

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The emirate accounts for an estimated 25 per cent share of the live poultry market in the UAE.

Dr Hussain Hassanain, technical secretary of the UAE Poultry Association, said the association planned to ask for Dh10, the selling price of a chicken, for every chicken that can no longer be sold.

At least five million live chickens are sold in the UAE annually, averaging at about 417,000 chickens monthly.

"If we're willing to stop selling, we should be compensated. The compensation must be commensurate with the cost of the chicken," Hassanain told Gulf News by telephone.

He said the decision would mostly affect small farms which depend on selling live chickens as their primary source of income.

The ban means chicken farmers will have to bear the cost of the upkeep of their chickens, including maintaining the farm and paying their workers, for as long as the ban remains in effect.

Dr Hassanain added that the ban would not have the same effect on large poultry farms.

"The large poultry farms will be OK because they can supplement their income from the sale of processed chickens, which will be high as there is no other source for poultry products in the UAE.

"Most small poultry farms depend on live sales. And they don't have backup plans," he said.

Dr Hassanain also said the decision to ban the sale of live chickens was an "overreaction" and would cause panic among the public, already concerned about the bird flu threat.

However, he supported the emirate's decision to cull birds bred at home for personal consumption.

"It's good from a public health point of view," he added.

The UAE lies on two major migration routes.

Poultry reared at home 'must be culled'

Chickens kept at home for personal consumption should be culled to prevent bird flu, said a senior epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health.

Dr Juma Bilal Fairuz, director of Dubai's preventive medicine department at the Ministry of Health, told Gulf News that the culling should be applied across the UAE and not just Abu Dhabi.

He said it was necessary because the government could not ensure high hygiene controls at people's homes.

"At home, if one or two chickens die, they don't report it. But at poultry farms, the Ministry of Agriculture carries out inspections, and if any chicken dies it gets reported. Breeding chickens at home is a bad idea," he added. Abu Dhabi decided to cull domestic chickens on Saturday as part of its plan to prevent the spread of bird flu.

The UAE is currently free of bird flu, though health and wildlife experts are bracing for the worst, as migratory birds are expected to cross the country on their annual winter migration flight to Africa.