Regent appeals for all clear in Tangerang

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

The regent of Tangerang urged the central government on Wednesday to revoke the bird flu 'red zone' status in the regency, insisting that there was no bird flu epidemic in the area.

"There is no avian influenza (in Tangerang). We have monitored all poultry farms here, but found no indication of bird flu. It is business as usual at poultry farms and workers don't even use gloves and masks to protect themselves," regent Ismet Iskandar said on Wednesday.

He said the central government's declaration that Tangerang was a red zone for bird flu had had a bad impact on poultry breeders and chicken meat traders at markets, with their sales dropping by 50 percent.

"I accompanied Trade and Industry Minister Marie Elka Pangestu visiting a market at Bumi Serpong Damai city this morning and she herself saw traders who could not sell their wares because people were scared of eating chicken," Ismet said in a meeting with 100 poultry breeders.

"What a pity. Chicken meat traders and poultry breeders are now confused and angry. Some people are even scared of coming to Tangerang due to bird flu issues. Therefore, I ask the central government to immediately revoke the red zone status," he added.

The central government declared Tangerang a red zone for bird flu following the deaths of Iwan Siswara, an official at the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), and his two young daughters, early this month.

The government had also culled poultry and pigs in the regency in order to stem the spread of the virus.

Abdul Syukur, a poultry breeder from Muk district, said that he employed 100 workers at his poultry farm and none of them used gloves and masks at work.

"If there was bird flu in Tangerang, my workers would have been infected by the virus, but they are safe and work as usual," he said, adding that he had no idea what to do with his workers now that sales had dropped by 50 percent.

Edi Wahyudi, secretary general of National Poultry Producer Marketing Information Center (Pinsar), said that should the central government not revoke the red zone status, it would be just a matter of time before the poultry breeding business died out in the regency.

He said that market demand from Tangerang had dropped by 50 percent for chicken meat and eggs since the government declared Tangerang a red zone for bird flu.

He said there were 100 poultry breeders employing 1,000 workers in the regency. Tangerang delivers 70 tons of eggs and 100,000 chickens every day to fulfill the needs of the Jakarta market.

"What will happen to the breeders and their workers if the meat and eggs they produce in Tangerang are not allowed to enter the Jakarta market?" he asked.