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Oldenburg (dpa / lni) - According to the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, the effects of avian influenza in the Weser-Ems region are catastrophic.
The outbreak threatens the existence of many turkey farms, the chamber spokeswoman announced on Monday in Oldenburg.
According to this, more than 350,000 animals have now been killed to stop the spread of bird flu.
There are more than 20 outbreaks of the highly contagious H5N8 poultry virus in turkey farms in the districts of Oldenburg, Cloppenburg, Vechta and Cuxhaven.
In addition to turkeys, other types of poultry are also affected, such as Peking ducks and broilers.
The pathogen is considered to be harmless to humans.
Above all, the high economic damage is feared.
According to the Chamber of Agriculture (LWK), some turkey farms are affected by avian influenza for the second time.
The first outbreak in 2016/2017 already caused damage to the industry in Lower Saxony.
Since then, many companies have increased the security measures.
"Open stalls, in which turkeys and Peking ducks are mostly kept, cannot be hermetically sealed," said LWK specialist for animal breeding and husbandry Peter Hiller.
"This is the only way to explain that the highly contagious virus can get from one stable to another."
How the 34-day-old animals of a broiler farm could become infected in January is unclear.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210201-99-257826 / 2
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Communication from the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture
Via the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture