Crow carcasses trigger bird flu scare after poultry deaths in Odisha’s Puri district

A day after hundreds of chickens were found dead in poultry farms in villages under the Krushnaprasad block in Puri district, carcasses of crows were found on Tuesday, causing fear among local residents. 

The residents woke up to the shocking sight of hundreds of crows lying dead in the nearby Siala forest. These occurrences witnessed in the last couple of days have unsettled the residents, who are eagerly awaiting explanations for these disturbing events.

As of yet, no representatives from the Animal Husbandry Department have visited the areas to assess the situation or offer insights into the potential causes behind these deaths. The absence of an official response has exacerbated fear among villagers, who have already witnessed the deaths of thousands of chickens without any official clarification.

Also Read: Bird flu scare resurfaces in Odisha's Puri 

The scared residents called for a thorough investigation to uncover the reasons behind these alarming animal fatalities.
Notably, thousands of chickens on Monday were found dead in poultry farms in Krushnaprasad block, giving rise to the fear of a suspected outbreak of avian influenza. Such incidents have been reported over the past five days, with numerous farms reporting drastic losses of their poultry stocks.

While the sudden increase in poultry deaths has left the farmers a worried lot, the recent incidents of crow deaths have triggered avian influenza fear among them. 

They are in a state of anxiety, thinking about how to bear the losses as many farmers had relied on bank loans to sustain their operations, and the unexpected outbreak and the consequent losses have left them in a quandary.

(Reported by Nilakantha Pradhan)