Tunisia: Power cuts kill thousands of chickens amid heatwave

Some farms have suffered significant losses due to the power outages, with workers reporting the deaths of thousands of chickens.

At a farm in El-Fahs, roughly 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Tunis, workers say the power outages have significantly affected their working conditions, making routine tasks difficult, according to Arab News via AFP on 29 July.

Hamza Bouchrit, a veterinarian at the poultry farm, estimates that the cost of the dead poultry in El-Fahs is “huge… between 1.4 and 1.5 million dinars” (US$500,000).

He further explained, “We had a power cut. Nearly 90 percent of the chickens died, between 150,000 and 200,000. There was a power outage. We have a backup generator that is only for troubleshooting. It’s designed to run for two to three hours. The power cut lasted a long time. The generator overheated and stopped working. The disaster happened.”

Bouchrit told the outlets, “We’re still at a standstill. We keep on collecting the dead (chickens). The smell of dead chickens is terrible. We don’t understand; it’s close to 400 to 500 tonnes of meat. That’s a loss of more than 1,400,000 to 1,500,000 dinars (around 445,000 euros). It’s an enormous loss.”

This is not the only farm affected. At a nearby dairy farm, workers had to discard milk due to power outages. Aziz Bouhejba, a milk producer, explains, “We took losses because we had to literally throw away milk. We dumped six days’ worth of milking, which comes to about 1,200 litres that we had to pour out. That’s a straight loss that we’re finding very hard to recover from.”

Arab News, citing Mohamed Saddam, president of the fishmongers’ chamber, states that the fishing industry is also impacted by the heatwave. The increased prices of ice are raising operating costs, which in turn drives up fish prices.

The Tunisian parliament has devoted a plenary session on the 27 of July to address the situation. However, government representatives failed to appear. Several lawmakers denounced the fact that they were absent.

MP Adel Dhiaf told AFP, “It is impossible to find an official who will answer you. Go out and explain to citizens the reasons for this situation.”

She added: “Some have lost their cow… Another person lost 2,500 chickens because of the power cuts. Why are we destroying our country like this?“