Avian Flu
Avian Flu So this week there has been a lot of information in the news about the epidemic of avian flu that is spreading through Europe. I've been thinking about this and how t will affect our poultry in this country. Even though there has been no proof that this virus affect humans the government still has put zones in place to prevent the spread of this disease, the reason for this is that there have been no known cases of this stain of avian influenza within the UK. This virus is highly pathogenic and so zones were put in place around Britain for 30 days. This is to try any prevent any birds (commercial and pet) from catching this virus. So I was thinking how this was going to affect our farms, firstly I thought what about all of the free range birds around the UK, they aren't going to be as 'free' now. What about the free range turkeys for Christmas they are going to live their last days indoors in probably a very crowded barn. Now I'm not saying this is going to be the case for all of the commercial bird farms in the UK however I have to wonder what measures will be taken to ensure that the animals are well fed and looked after, while cooped up indoors? For some farmers this may lower their yield of production especially with free range eggs for example, if the chickens aren't able to go outside how are they going to get the nutrients and minerals they take in when being outside, then to ensure the yield stays the same the farmers many have to buy in some extra supplements. All of this will cost the farmers, let alone the fact that have many birds held in an indoor area provides a breeding ground for many other parasites and bacteria, the barns will also need cleaning out often due to the large amounts of excrement produced. Even though no evidence has been found that this virus does affect humans, I still feel that the measures being taken are extremely necessary in order to try and prevent the spread. However I have also read this week that there has been a confirmed case of the Avian Flu at a farm in Lincolnshire. At this farm most of the birds have died and the rest are having to be culled humanly. Hopefully there will be no further spread of this through the UK, due to the quick identification of this case and the measure put in place swiftly after I think we have a good chance of it not spreading. However for the mean time we need to remain on high alert and we all need to be accountable for our poultry and if we have any worries we must speak to a vet immediately so that the matter can be dealt with. Because though this may not concern our health and have no food safety implications it takes away someone's livelihood and could cause a major epidemic which we don't want in the UK. So I may have taken a really naïve view on this and there may be many more reasons for all matters I have discussed however this is how I feel. And just as a side note anyone who reads this is you have any suspicion about a case of Avian Flu make sure to contact APHA a.s.a.p. I would like to with everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  |
(image from google images
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