[Anchor]
Livestock are also suffering from the scorching heat. So far, more than 360,000 livestock have died nationwide, and livestock farms are fighting a round-the-clock battle against the heat.
Reporter Hong Seung-yeon has the story.
[Reporter]
Chicks are gasping for air with their beaks open, lying flat and lethargic on the ground.
With daytime temperatures reaching 35°C (95°F), 500 chicks have died from the heat at this farm alone.
Due to the heatwave, this farm had to cut the number of chicks it raises to half of last year's level.
[Poultry Farmer: Because they are animals vulnerable to the heat, we have ventilation fans, electric fans, and all the doors open... but the heat is so intense that many die, and if we bring in more chicks, it just brings hardship.]
Another poultry farm nearby.
Even with all cooling facilities running, the temperature far exceeds 24°C (75°F), the optimal growing temperature for chickens.
Electric fans run continuously to cool down the heat, but the indoor temperature exceeds 33°C (91°F) like this, making you sweat just by standing still.
Even when suffering damage from heatwaves, receiving compensation from livestock disaster insurance is not easy.
[Lee Jae-shin / Poultry Farmer: If it hits 34°C or 35°C for just about 30 minutes, they all get wiped out and die. They only acknowledge that they died due to heatwave damage if the heatwave warning lasts for 3 days or more, but what happens if the ones that died today are processed 3 days later? They turn to water and rot. The insurance is structured unreasonably.]
Livestock farms are also at war with the heat.
They try to cool the heat with cooling fans, but the barn temperature exceeds 34°C (93°F).
Exhausted by the heat, dairy cows refuse to eat their feed and sit down drooling.
As feed intake drops due to stress, milk production has plummeted by more than 30%.
[Kim Dong-hoon / Dairy Farmer: They should be eating 1,700 kg, but we've reduced it by 200 kg now. The cows' intake rate has dropped that much. As a result of that, even the milk yield has decreased...]
Some 360,000 livestock have died due to the current heatwave, and farmers are calling for urgent, active support to minimize farm damage.
(Video Journalist: Kim Min-chul)
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