Bandung residents express mixed reactions to bird flu<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
The outbreak of avian influenza in the country has caused some
\nBandung residents who keep birds to sell or slaughter them for
\nfear of infection.<\/p>\n
However, it's a different case for Ardhy Djuanda, who raises
\nBekisar chickens, a cross between free-range and forest chickens.<\/p>\n
\"I am worried, but I am not panicking yet,\" said Ardhy on
\nFriday in his house in Ujungberung area, East Bandung.<\/p>\n
Ardhy has been raising chickens since 1990 and understands how
\nto keep them in good health, though initially that was not the
\ncase.<\/p>\n
The turning point came in 1995 when he lost his chicken
\nBimasakti, which won the Indonesian Golden Cup in 1995, a
\nprestigious national Bekisar competition held to commemorate
\nIndonesia's 50th Independence Day.<\/p>\n
He had paid Rp 400,000 for Bimasakti but after the win the
\nchicken was valued at Rp 25 million. A Bekisar chicken
\nmight cost as little as Rp 250,000 (US$25) or as high as Rp 100
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
But Bimasakti died of tetelo virus before Ardhy could sell it.
\n\"That was a painful lesson,\" he said.<\/p>\n
From that day onward, Ardhy washed his Bekisars and their
\ncages every morning with disinfectant soap. He also supplemented
\ntheir feed.<\/p>\n
When cases of bird flu were reported last year, Ardhy employed
\ntougher measures. He vaccinated the birds every three months and
\nisolated them, to prevent contact with \"outside\" birds.<\/p>\n
None of his Bekisars have come down with bird flu.<\/p>\n
In contrast to Ardhy, Yazid Salman, a West Java councillor,
\nhad many sleepless nights worrying about the presence of chickens
\nin his yard before his decision to slaughter them and distribute
\nthe meat to his neighbors.<\/p>\n
\"Although I had been raising them for many years, I had to
\nkill them to prevent the spread of bird flu. I am worried my
\nfamily will get sick,\" said Yazid, a councillor with the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bandung-residents-express-mixed-reactions-to-bird-flu-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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