There's a new Avian Flu scare.
Some chickens in Cayetano Germosen, a village south of Moca, were detected with a stronger strain of the Avian Flu. The authorities are now investigating how widespread the problem is in order to act (create concentration camps where the infected chickens will be killed enmasse and buried in mass graves.) This virus spreads very quickly.
The biggest problem is that the Moca - La Vega - Salcedo area (and in Jarabacoa, but that's relatively far and not infected as of now) is the main poultry producing area of the country. Some 80% to 90% of all poultry products originate there.
The other problem is that the Vega Real Valley, especially in the Moca - La Vega area, has the highest concentration of small subsistence farmers. The risk that their domestic chicken and eggs for their own consumption could be infected is very real. There's hardly a Dominican farmer that doesn't have a least a few chickens around.
As of right now, Enriquillo Rivas (an agricultural expert interviewed in the video below) says that Dominican chicken meat and eggs is still edible. Keep in mind that he's also a chicken and egg producer, so there could be a conflict of interest.
The entire Dominican poultry industry is under threat of extinction.
[video=youtube;SUxcKZLBZZA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUxcKZLBZZA[/video]
Some chickens in Cayetano Germosen, a village south of Moca, were detected with a stronger strain of the Avian Flu. The authorities are now investigating how widespread the problem is in order to act (create concentration camps where the infected chickens will be killed enmasse and buried in mass graves.) This virus spreads very quickly.
The biggest problem is that the Moca - La Vega - Salcedo area (and in Jarabacoa, but that's relatively far and not infected as of now) is the main poultry producing area of the country. Some 80% to 90% of all poultry products originate there.
The other problem is that the Vega Real Valley, especially in the Moca - La Vega area, has the highest concentration of small subsistence farmers. The risk that their domestic chicken and eggs for their own consumption could be infected is very real. There's hardly a Dominican farmer that doesn't have a least a few chickens around.
As of right now, Enriquillo Rivas (an agricultural expert interviewed in the video below) says that Dominican chicken meat and eggs is still edible. Keep in mind that he's also a chicken and egg producer, so there could be a conflict of interest.
The entire Dominican poultry industry is under threat of extinction.
[video=youtube;SUxcKZLBZZA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUxcKZLBZZA[/video]