大象传媒

Tha sinn air ais air An Lot ann an Nis ann am f矛or cheann a Tuath Le貌dhais c貌mhla ri D貌mhnall Macsuain no 鈥淪weeny鈥� mar as fhe脿rr a dh鈥� aithnichear e airson pr貌gram s貌nraichte mu dheidhinn cuspair a tha air a bhith gu m貌r anns na naidheachdan bho chionn ghoirid agus a tha a鈥� toirt buaidh air iomadach croitear agus tuathanach chearcan 鈥� flu nan eun.
Aig aon 脿m, bha na cearcan nam p脿irt mh貌r dhan teachd a-steach aig Sweeny, ach le na cunnartan a thaobh flu nan eun thar nam bliadhnaichean, tha e air a bhith a鈥� gearradh air ais. Anns a鈥� phr貌gram seo, tha sinne ag ionnsachadh mu mar a tha flu nan eun air greim fhaighinn air na cearcan aig Sweeny. Ciamar a tha an call seo a鈥� dol a thoirt buaidh air a鈥� bheatha mar chroitear an d猫idh a bhith cumail chearcan agus a鈥� reic uighean fad naoi bliadhna?

Thairis air a鈥� bhliadhna a chaidh seachad ann an Alba, chaidh ochd ceud m矛le 鈥檚 seasgad chearc a chall air sg脿th flu nan eun. Tha Sweeny a鈥� faighinn cothrom bruidhinn ris an tuathanach chearcan, Robert Chapman, air an tug flu nan eun buille chruaidh, is e a鈥� call d脿 cheud m矛le cearc. Ciamar a tha an tuathanach seo air a bhith a鈥� d猫iligeadh ri bhith a鈥� call 脿ireamh mh貌r de chearcan agus d猫 a鈥� chomhairle a th鈥� aige do Sweeny? Tha Sweeny cuideachd a鈥� gabhail 霉ine air falbh bhon lot is e a鈥� dol a Dh霉n 脠ideann a bhruidhinn ri Sheila Voas, pr矛omh Lighiche-spr猫idh na h-Alba, mu c貌 脿s a tha flu nan eun a鈥� tighinn agus mar a tha e air sgapadh cho luath.

Feumaidh Sweeny fh猫in a bhith a鈥� faiceallach nach glac e c脿il agus tha uallach air deuchainnean a dh猫anamh air na mucan cuideachd, gun fhios nach robh gin de na cearcan faisg orra. Tha sinn c貌mhla ri Sweeny aig aon de na h-amannan as miosa dha air an Lot fhad 鈥檚 a tha e a鈥� tachairt. Ciamar a tha e a鈥� d猫iligeadh ri c霉isean, ciamar a tha e a鈥� faireachdainn agus d猫 tha fainear dhan Lot mura bi cearcan aige?
We return to An Lot in Ness, the most northerly part of Lewis with Donald Macsween or 鈥淪weeny鈥� as he is best known for a special programme about a subject, dominant in the news lately, which has had a devastating impact on many crofters and poultry farmers 鈥� bird flu.

At one time, hens were a large part of Sweeny鈥檚 income, but with the dangers of bird flu he has been cutting back on the numbers he has been keeping over the years. In this programme, we learn about bird flu and how it has affected Sweeny鈥檚 hens. How is this devasting loss going to impact his life as a crofter after keeping hens and selling eggs for nine years?

Over the last year in Scotland, 860, 000 poultry have been lost to bird flu. With that in mind, Sweeny gets the opportunity to speak to poultry farmer, Robert Chapman, whose farm has been hit really badly, losing 200,000 hens in one go. How is this farmer dealing with losing large numbers of hens and what advice does he have for Sweeny?

Sweeny also takes time out to go to Edinburgh to speak to Sheila Voas, the Chief Veterinary Officer for Scotland to learn about where bird flu comes from and why it has spread so quickly. He also has to take antiviral medication to make sure that he doesn鈥檛 pick up the virus himself and has a responsibility to test his pigs in case of any cross contamination. We spend time with him during one of the most worrying times on the croft. How does he deal with the situation, how does he feel and what lies ahead if he can鈥檛 keep hens?

In Gaelic with English subtitles