Thailand: Angry and emotional, Thai chicken-farmers watched as their birds were been buried alive into lime-covered giant pits, meanwhile accusing the government of Thailand for destroying their livelihoods by covering up the outbreak of bird flu in the country.
Small farmers in the province of Suphan Buri, west of Bangkok, have been worst-hit by the outbreak of the deadly Avian Influenza epidemic, which was confirmed as being present in Thailand only last Friday after weeks of strong government denials.
Why didn't the Thai government tell us the truth earlier or at least issue orders for us to take preventive measures? asked 26-year-old Sirima Manapornsamrat, whose 3,000 egg-laying chickens were all culled last Saturday.
My chickens did not look sick at all. They were laying eggs this morning as usual, Sirima Manapornsamrat said tearfully from her small family run farm, which is situated very close to the first Thai farm to test positive for the H5N1 virus that is hitting Thailand very hard.
Thailand's small farmers claimed they lost out as the Thai government sought to protect Thailand's major chicken exporters, a 1,2 billion US-dollar industry, by insisting that the disease ravaging Thai chickens was merely fowl cholera and bronchitis.
By denying the real facts the Thai government was helping out the major export operators, but in the end it's us small farmers who are loosing and suffering, Sirima added.
Despite their distress, the young farmer and her elderly mother helped as some of the 650 Thai prisoners and soldiers fought the chickens by tossing them into bags and then bury them into huge pits sprinkled with lime.
The soldiers and teams of prisoners were ordered to dispose of more than 1,6 million chickens yesterday alone, adding to the toll of the Bird Flu disaster in Thailand which had already made 9,1 million birds culled in Thailand up to last Saturday, according to figures released by the agriculture ministry of Thailand.
At another small nearby farm in Suphan Buri province, Chicken-farmer Monthip Laithip fumed with anger as her 15,000 layer hens were buried alive.
What's really shocking to us is that the Thai government did not disclose the facts until Friday. They told us in November that the disease that was killing thousands of chickens around here could not be transmitted. They revealed the truth too slowly, she further added.
Monthip estimated that the forced killing of her chickens cost her more than 2 million baht (US$ 50,000), despite compensation from Thailand's government of 40 baht (US$ 1) for each culled bird. The real cost for each chicken is double that, she said.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob appealed for Thai farmers to understand that the distressing chicken killing is vital to contain a further spreading of the Bird Flu epidemic in Thailand.
Thai officials, prisoners and soldiers are carrying out their duties under very stressful conditions as farmers are crying endlessly because they're worried about their debts and cry that they will never recover from their loss, he said.
Despite the massive killing of chickens that is currently taking place, it appears that the government of Thailand is desperately trying to catch up with a problem that is now almost beyond the control of the Thai government.
