Indonesia banned poultry farming in the capital

Mayor of Jakarta announced a ban on all types of poultry in the city. In the immediate future, the city urges people to voluntarily execute this order but the regulation will become compulsory in the next two weeks.

Many Jakarta residents raise chickens in the yard (Photo: AP)

The statement came after a series of bird flu cases in Indonesia that killed at least four people in the past two weeks. The ban applies to all types of poultry in the city including chickens, ducks and pigeons.

Jakarta's mayor said families must destroy all poultry or sell them. Slaughterhouses and poultry farms will be moved to the outskirts of the city.

This is the first city in Jakarta to impose a ban but eight other provinces will have similar rules in the near future. The goal of the ban is to prevent bird flu from spreading.

The risk of avian influenza in humans has increased sharply in recent years with five cases of human avian influenza infection. But enforcing the ban is not easy when raising chickens in the garden has become a tradition in Indonesia. It is also a way for people to increase their income.

Indonesia has the highest number of deaths from bird flu in the world, currently 61. Globally, a total of 150 people have died from bird flu since the flu in Southeast Asia in 2003. Most of the deaths are caused by contact with infected poultry.