The main control mechanism adopted by the government of Philippines in stopping the spread of avian influenza was the wholesale destruction of chicken in the affected areas. This generally involved the killing and burning of hundreds of thousands of birds.
One of the worst affected areas was the Pampanga region in the island of Luzon where over 200,000 chickens, turkey and duck were destroyed.
The main goal of the Philippine government was to stop the spread of the bird flu to other farms and regions. The authorities directed their main efforts at killing the bird flu virus at its source in the poultry farms that are situated in Pampanga. After the destruction, the authorities undertook measures aimed at creating a new and healthy environment for poultry farming. It was a long going effort that took several months.
The wholesale destruction of birds in the Pampanga region led to massive losses for the poultry farmers in the region with many facing a bleak future.
Some of the farmers who underwent the losses have been unable to raise new flock once more while others were unable to raise birds for distribution beyond the quarantine area. This meant a loss of market and loss of revenues.
As the bird flu fears spread across the Philippines and in its export destination markets, many people stopped eating chicken altogether and were not able to buy any poultry meat including chicken, duck and turkey meat for a long time. This led to further losses for farmers.
So the battle against bird flu is not just about stopping the spread by destroying affected or exposed chickens; it is also about restoring confidence in the Philippine poultry industry and winning back the customers to begin spending money once more on the country’s poultry products.
Following the drastic losses in the affected regions, the Philippine government pledged to offer farmers compensation for the losses suffered. However, many farmers are skeptical given the low confidence that the populace have in the authorities who have a history of malfeasance. Besides, where is the money going to come from?