Bird market returns to Mawasi Khan Younis after the genocide.. Breeders face high prices, feed and medicine shortages
After a war-imposed halt, bird breeders have resumed their activity in Mawasi Khan Younis with the reopening of a weekly market. Breeders face a sharp rise in the prices of birds and chicks, a shortage of feed and medicine, and difficulties in raising birds inside tents and crowded displacement areas, increasing the risks of disease and mortality.
After a halt imposed by the Israeli genocide war on the Gaza Strip and the destruction of vast areas of the poultry sector, bird breeders have gradually resumed their activity, with the reopening of a weekly bird market in Mawasi Khan Younis. The market sees limited buying and selling activity, accompanied by a significant rise in the prices of birds and chicks, a shortage of feed and medicine, along with difficulties in raising birds inside tents and crowded displacement areas, increasing the risks of disease and mortality. Bird medicine seller Saeed Abu Shaqra says that an initiative by a group of hobbyists and pigeon breeders contributed to re-establishing the market. Breeder Adham Zaarab explains that a pair of chicks, which he used to buy before the war for about 5 shekels, now costs between 80 and 100 shekels. Breeder Umm Ramadan al-Laham describes the prices as high, noting that a pair of chickens for eating used to sell for about 30 shekels before the war. Breeders also face difficulties in providing medicines and veterinary treatments, with the spread of diseases among birds such as salmonella and Newcastle, and a decline in the ability to prevent and treat them. The crowded displacement conditions add another problem, namely the spread of mice and rodents around the tents and breeding sites, causing bird mortality. Despite these difficulties, breeders believe that the return of production could gradually contribute to increasing bird numbers and lowering prices.