Cloppenburg / Hanover (dpa / lni) – Because of the avian influenza, hobby breeders in Lower Saxony are struggling with major problems. The situation is oppressive, said Rainer Gerling, leisure breeder from Essen (district of Cloppenburg), the German press agency.

The animal disease currently makes it impossible for him to pursue his long-standing hobby. Some birds are aggressive in the barn, feather pecking and even killing of each other occur. Gerling calls for more creative and sensible solutions to protect poultry – such as being able to stretch a net over the animals outdoors. You have to differentiate between intensive poultry farming and small poultry farming like his.

According to the Lower Saxony poultry industry association, hobby farming is just as endangered as livestock farming. “There is just a safe method,” said chairman Friedrich-Otto Ripke.

According to the Lower Saxony Animal Disease Fund, there were more than 70 avian influenza outbreaks in the country last winter, including four among hobbyists. A total of 48,300 hobby poultry farmers are reported to the cash register.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211227-99-512298 / 2