Ukrainian poultry poisoned by toxic feed

About 25,000 turkeys died at a number of poultry farms on 14 July in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, believed to be caused by poisonous feed.

During the preliminary examination it was established that animals’ mortality has been caused by toxic feed.

Specialists of the Ministry of Agriculture found that feeds that had been used on several poultry farms in the Donetsk region had an extremely high concentration of two types of dangerous toxins.

According to preliminary data the maximum permissible concentration of toxins was exceeded by 3.5 times.

It is not clear to which group of toxins the detected substances belong. Initially, it was noted that the toxins from the feed accumulated in the liver of the birds, and so far the fallen animals were not dangerous for people, but at later stage it was decided to destroy all dead poultry.

Industry lame
The incident paralyzed all agriculture industry in Donetsk region. All toxic compound feed was produced at the Izyum feed mill, located in the Kharkiv region, which has been supplying feed to a large part of farms in the Ukraine.

As a result it is not completely clear on what other farms now there is exist a risk of poisoning. The Veterinary Services are carrying out inspection of all animal feed products and feed additives at farms in the Donetsk region, especially on poultry farms.

However, experts point out that the blame for this incident, quite possibly should not been laid at the employees of Izyum plant, but at poultry farms themselves.

“Feed can be affected by the toxic fungi; also containers of feed on the farm can be poorly cleaned etc. To prevent the accumulation of the toxins, the birds must be given an absorbent along with the feed. Therefore before drawing any conclusions it is necessary to check compliance with all necessary sanitary requirements on farms themselves,” experts say (Vladislav Vorotnikov).