Australia euthanises chickens with salmonella
Australia’s agriculture ministry has revealed that thousands of chickens held at a quarantine facility have been euthanised after testing positive for a strain of salmonella.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) said that salmonella pullorum, which is not currently present in Australia, had been detected in a consignment of 4,000 fancy breed chickens at the Torrens Island Avian Quarantine Facility in South Australia.
It added that the disease, which causes death and reproductive problems in birds, posed a “significant risk” to the country’s poultry industry.
“The consignment has been housed as a single flock, which means all animals in the consignment have been exposed to the disease,” said a spokesperson. “As there is no effective treatment option, the decision has been made to humanely euthanise the animals under supervision of qualified veterinarians.”
