Bird flu outbreak shows need to change the way we farm, says institute
The Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute has called on the government to implement more stringent measures to protect the poultry industry from the onslaught of bird flu.
The country's battling an outbreak of the H5N1 and H7N6 strains in what has been described as the worst outbreak of avian influenza the country has ever experienced.
More than a million chickens have been culled so far on commercial farms to limit the spread of the disease.
There have been warnings the crisis would lead to a spike in the cost of eggs and poultry products in stores.
READ: Govt 'doing all it can' to limit spread of bird flu
The Department of Agriculture has said it’s considering several interventions, but the institute’s Zwelisha Shobede says the outbreak shows the need to make more fundamental changes to the way in which the country farms.
"We are once again reminded that we need to make a change, and we need better farming systems, and we need to make sure hands are safe, healthy and protected from diseases such as this avian flu.
"By this, we are calling out retailers to say make a switch, take a stand and protect the public and make sure that this does not happen again and that we have better farming systems and the eggs we consume are healthy to eat."
