Vietnamese chicken farmers resume breeding operations

Having instated new regulations to assuage bird flu fears, the ministry is starting to get the industry back on its feet. Nguyen Thanh Son, deputy director of the ministry's Animal Breeding Department, said the ministry kept breeding new flocks of chickens as scheduled.

But he said farmers will have to follow new practices when re-building their farms, including breeding in concentrated areas, obtaining a licence from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, using new breeds with clearly identified origin and making a commitment to use vaccines.

Breeders will have to strictly enforce veterinary hygiene and vaccinations and periodically perform tests in line with Animal Health Agency regulations.

Son said the temporary prohibition of incubation and new breeding of geese and ducks will remained unchanged until February 28, 2007.

He said that although the outbreak of bird flu is under control, the danger of a new outbreak this year remains high. "We need to put it on alert to prevent new outbreak and avoid damage for farmers."