Bandung residents express mixed reactions to bird flu

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The outbreak of avian influenza in the country has caused some Bandung residents who keep birds to sell or slaughter them for fear of infection.

However, it's a different case for Ardhy Djuanda, who raises Bekisar chickens, a cross between free-range and forest chickens.

"I am worried, but I am not panicking yet," said Ardhy on Friday in his house in Ujungberung area, East Bandung.

Ardhy has been raising chickens since 1990 and understands how to keep them in good health, though initially that was not the case.

The turning point came in 1995 when he lost his chicken Bimasakti, which won the Indonesian Golden Cup in 1995, a prestigious national Bekisar competition held to commemorate Indonesia's 50th Independence Day.

He had paid Rp 400,000 for Bimasakti but after the win the chicken was valued at Rp 25 million. A Bekisar chicken might cost as little as Rp 250,000 (US$25) or as high as Rp 100 million.

But Bimasakti died of tetelo virus before Ardhy could sell it. "That was a painful lesson," he said.

From that day onward, Ardhy washed his Bekisars and their cages every morning with disinfectant soap. He also supplemented their feed.

When cases of bird flu were reported last year, Ardhy employed tougher measures. He vaccinated the birds every three months and isolated them, to prevent contact with "outside" birds.

None of his Bekisars have come down with bird flu.

In contrast to Ardhy, Yazid Salman, a West Java councillor, had many sleepless nights worrying about the presence of chickens in his yard before his decision to slaughter them and distribute the meat to his neighbors.

"Although I had been raising them for many years, I had to kill them to prevent the spread of bird flu. I am worried my family will get sick," said Yazid, a councillor with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.