Prevention against bird flu is extended in Ibiza, but without locking up chickens. The Balearic Government has decided to extend to all the municipalities of the Balearic Islands the protection measures against avian flu, in line with the ministerial order published Thursday in the Official Gazette of the State, but without generally applying the confinement of poultry.
The general director of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Fernando Fernández, explained that the state regulation allows the autonomous communities to “flexibilize” the application of the restrictions to adjust them to the reality of their farms, something especially relevant in an archipelago with a very high weight of small self-consumption farms.
Thus, the Directorate General has opted to maintain the model already announced last Friday: poultry may remain outdoors provided that effective measures are taken to prevent contact with wild birds. This involves, where possible, placing aviary netting or other protective devices, and ensuring that food and water are provided inside the facilities or in closed shelters, where wild birds cannot access or come into contact with feed or water tanks.
Industry responsibility and warning of possible “more drastic” measures
Fernandez has stressed that these measures will be maintained only as long as there is responsible behavior on the part of the owners of farms, both commercial and self-consumption. “If we detect widespread non-compliance and that, especially in commercial farms, biosecurity measures are not being applied, we will be forced to adopt more drastic measures,” he warned.
In the Balearic Islands, about 70% of poultry farms are self-consumption farms, which must maintain feeders and drinkers in protected places and, in most cases, can provide enclosed spaces without large investments. For commercial farms, the Conselleria is already working on a forthcoming resolution that will include more intense controls to verify the application of biosecurity standards.
The general director has insisted that the risk is “real” and that there is a “very strong” concern about the possibility of avian influenza reaching the Balearic Islands. As the Conselleria has been reminding, any health anomaly – unusual mortality, sudden drop in water or feed consumption, sudden drop in laying or compatible symptoms – should be reported immediately to the Official Veterinary Services.
What changes and what applies in the Balearic Islands
With the new resolution, the measures will be extended in the coming days to all the municipalities of the archipelago, including the Pitiusas, after Ibiza, Sant Josep and Santa Eulària were already among the areas of specific surveillance, as reported by La Voz de Ibiza.
The main restrictions include:
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Prohibition of weekly poultry markets when they concentrate animals from more than one farm or from different municipalities, whether poultry or captive birds.
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Suspension of livestock contests in all municipalities.
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Strict conditions for outdoor rearing:
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Food and drink only indoors or in protected areas, without contact with wild birds.
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Outdoor water tanks protected from wild birds.
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Treatment of water from reservoirs accessible to wild birds to inactivate possible viruses.
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As for homing pigeons, the continuity of training flights is authorized under the supervision of the veterinarian responsible for vaccinations, since these birds are not usually detected by the disease and are transported in closed vehicles to the point of release.
A small but strategic sector
Balearic Islands has more than 6,000 poultry farms, of which the vast majority are self-consumption and only a minority are commercial farms producing meat and eggs. As highlighted by Fernández at the technical conference held this week in Palma, it is a “small but strategic” sector, linked to food security, livestock diversification and the transition to more sustainable models.
The Government insists that biosecurity is not only a regulatory obligation, but “a collective commitment to animal health and the continuity of a sector that is part of the productive identity of the Balearic Islands”.
2.5 million hens slaughtered and 14 outbreaks in Spain
The decision of the Govern is adopted in a context of maximum tension at state level. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has confirmed the culling of some 2.5 million hens after 14 outbreaks of avian influenza were reported in poultry in Spain and has decreed the confinement of all poultry raised outdoors.
Despite the seriousness of the situation for the sector – with an impact on egg prices and exports – the Ministry stresses that “there is no implication” for public health and that the measure will be re-evaluated periodically with the objective of lifting it “as soon as possible” when the risk decreases.
