[Column] Scientific Avian Influenza (AI) Prevention Measures Are Disappointing

Sang-geun Kim, President of the Korea Broiler Association

26 million. This number is roughly half of South Korea's population (about 51.82 million). It also represents the number of poultry culled since the AI (Avian Influenza) outbreak on November 26 last year. Among them, 70% were poultry within a 3 km radius of the outbreak farms, which were culled preventively without any clear reason, leaving farmers with nothing but tears and sighs as they were all buried.

As large-scale livestock diseases became chronic, the government newly established the Quarantine Policy Bureau under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The livestock industry had high hopes that a significantly changed AI quarantine policy would be implemented. However, those hopes were inevitably shattered. This was because the government stubbornly enforced its unilateral quarantine policies, turning a deaf ear to the various opinions continuously presented by livestock organizations. Instead, it used the expanded organization to tighten control over local governments and farms. For example, even if a farm is located within 3 km, if the local government's Livestock Quarantine Review Committee recommends excluding it from culling, the Ministry of Agriculture's Central Livestock Quarantine Review Committee should review the acceptance after sufficient epidemiological discussion. However, they insisted that if responsibility cannot be determined, culling is the principle. While understanding the difficulties faced by quarantine authorities, it can only be seen as burying all poultry just like before under the pretext of initial quarantine. Japan selectively culled only outbreak farms and epidemiologically linked farms, resulting in 42 cases, which is less than half of South Korea's 88 cases. When experts, including livestock organizations, pointed out that this was rare even globally, the government found that in the Landes department on the southwest coast of France, culling extends up to 5 km and made a lame excuse that "without such preventive culling, the entire country's chickens would not have been safe." It is frustrating. The government must scientifically provide convincing evidence regarding the 3 km culling policy this time.

That's not all. The government also wiped out all the mother hens that lay chicks. About 1 million out of approximately 8.6 million broiler breeders were culled, which is 18 times more than Japan's 55,000. Before the AI outbreak, the price of chicks was 100 won, but now it is 800 won. Farmers cannot raise chickens because they cannot obtain chicks and are left helpless. Chicken prices are expected to skyrocket in March and April, and the consumer market will undoubtedly be replaced by imported chicken.

Moreover, the government is paying compensation for culling at an amount far below the production costs of broiler farms. This is because the compensation is based on prices from discount markets where only about 5% of the total broiler volume is traded, rather than prices formed in a perfectly competitive market. Compensation standards also differ by poultry species, which is unfair. Even now, proper price survey methods and systems should be established, or the standards should be changed to ensure fair compensation so that only innocent farmers do not suffer.

The compensation for this culling is estimated to exceed 100 billion won. According to the government's recent announcement, if farms do not install fences and disinfection facilities, their breeding will be restricted. If a more detailed and scientific culling policy had been implemented, at least the budget equivalent to the preventive culling compensation, which is precious in the COVID-19 era, could have been saved. Supporting farmers with this money for quarantine facility costs would have been much more effective. Even now, thorough review should be conducted to prevent budget waste and minimize damage to consumers and farmers.

Kim Sang-geun President of the Korea Broiler Association

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.