Japan Is Running Out Of Land To Bury Chickens Because Of Bird Flu

Japan has lost thousands of chickens due to the bird flu and is now out of the land available to bury them.

On Tuesday, Japanese state-owned television station NHK announced on the news that 16 of 26 prefectures within the country didn’t have sufficient land to dispose of the birds killed properly. The entire 26 prefectures had experienced recent outbreaks of avian influenza.

Local authorities or farms generally eliminate and then bury animals to stop spreading the disease; the lack of land has hindered efforts to stop the spread of the virus.

Japan has been battling the record-breaking spread of avian influenza in the past few months, placing pressure on the supply of chickens and sending the cost of eggs skyrocketing.

Over 17 million chickens were killed this year, making it the largest number ever, NHK reported Tuesday.

Japan slaughtered a record 9.9 million during the fiscal year 2020 due to a bird flu virus. It was the most recent record.

In the publication in March, Rabobank said global egg prices “reached historic high levels” within the very first quarter of 2023 and cited the effects of the avian influenza virus across all countries as well as higher costs for feed for hens.

Between mid-2020 and mid-2022, worldwide feed prices increased by more than a third, mostly because of the fallout of Russia’s incursion into Ukraine, the report said.

Worldwide, the price of an egg has increased a 2.5% compared to the last decade and about 100% to the previous year.

This has prompted many people across the globe to acquire their hens for their supply of food staples.

In Japan, eggs hit a record high for 10 years, a price of 235 yen($1.8) in March, According to Rabobank.

However, Mulder, the senior analyst at Rabobank, stated that the prices have increased in most of the South East Asian countries and in markets of counties like Israel, Argentina, Mexico and many more.

It isn’t likely to get much better this year. Rabobank’s prediction says that countries with Flu spikes will maintain higher prices throughout this decade.

“In other markets, there will be some price drop, but not to pre-2021 levels, as lingering high input costs keep prices higher.”

Avian flu is caused by diseases common among wild animals, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The infected bird can pass the virus to other mammals through saliva and bodily fluids.

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