Wellington, Dec 19 (IANS): The New Zealand government is gearing up for the response to high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, after the HPAI H7N6 was detected there on December 1.

About 200,000 chickens at the Mainland Poultry's commercial free-range egg farm at Hillgrove in Otago were humanely culled, after a farmer was instructed by law to depopulate a shed or farm, or to impose controls on their operations, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard said on Thursday.

The HPAI has not been found anywhere else in New Zealand, and "we are on track to stamp this out," Hoggard said while briefing media about the current situation.

The government has allocated new funding of 20 million NZ dollars (11.26 million U.S. dollars) to enable the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response, including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 laboratory in Wellington, and ongoing surveillance, and to cover compensation costs, he said.

"Testing and monitoring to date show no signs of HPAI in chicken farms outside of Mainland Poultry's commercial free-range egg farm at Hillgrove in Otago," he said, adding the farm remains under strict biosecurity controls as it undergoes intense cleaning and decontamination that will continue over the next several weeks after depopulation finished last week.

As part of the response, around 1,400 samples have been received for testing and analysis to date at MPI's internationally recognised laboratory, the minister said, adding the compensation process has been worked through with the farmer, Xinhua news agency reported.

The detection of H7N6 at the farm in New Zealand's South Island was not the H5N1 strain that has been causing deaths in poultry, wild birds, and mammals worldwide, according to an MPI statement earlier this month.