Still, after the fiasco of F&M, BSE we pander to the very industry
that is causing these serious global threats to mankind.

Stop molly coddling lazy, fat, selfish farmers.



http://www.animalaid.org.uk/press/0605bflu.htm

 Home > Press office > Press release: 08.05.06
      
Bird Flu - Public's Health Threatened by Government's Pro-Industry
Stance
Animal Aid is demanding answers of the government as to why
information issued about bird flu appears to be aimed at protecting
the poultry industry, rather than the public's health. While assuring
the public that properly cooked chicken is safe to consume, there is a
conspicuous silence about the safety of handling raw and possibly
infected carcasses. The national campaign group's demand comes in the
wake of the announcement that the government has drawn up plans to
suffocate birds to death through "ventilation shutdown" in factory
farm sheds.

In America, citizens are given very different information and advice
from their government. Amid fears of Avian Influenza (AI) arriving in
America, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued
clear guidelines about handling raw poultry products. (1) These
include using bleach to sanitise cutting boards and separating raw
meats from all other foods. The USDA further states that the AI virus
can be transferred on the surfaces of eggshells. The British
government has issued no such warning.

Dodging this issue compounds the health risks created by refusing to
acknowledge publicly the route by which AI spreads - through intensive
farming practices and the worldwide trade in poultry products. While
industry and government spokespeople in Britain are quick to blame
wild birds, the USDA states that 'The spread of avian influenza
between poultry premises almost always follows the movement of
contaminated people and equipment.' The global spread of AI similarly
appears to follow rail and road paths more closely than wild bird
migratory routes, indicating human activity as the principle means of
spreading this disease.

The low pathogenicity forms of AI are common in wild birds, producing
only mild symptoms. However, on entering poultry farms - often filthy
and overcrowded, and housing stressed birds with a diminished immune
response - the virus can and often does mutate to higher virulence.(2)
At this stage, the disease represents a real threat to the health of
birds and people.

Says Animal Aid Campaigner Kate Fowler-Reeves:
'The blithe message touted by government and industry spokespeople
that poultry is safe to eat is reminiscent of John Gummer's
light-hearted approach to the risks posed by British beef. Can chicken
be safe when the US government issues guidelines on how to rid it of
lethal viruses and dangerous bacteria? By refusing to acknowledge
publicly both the potential risks of handling infected carcasses and
the source and transmission routes of the highly virulent bird flu
strains, the government is sending the message that it cares more
about protecting trade than safeguarding the nation's health.'
    
 Bird Flu factfile

Press releases: 

 Avian flu: call for immediate halt to importation, breeding and
release of game birds
 Avian flu - Defra must resist hysteria-led bird massacre 
 
..........................

Notes to Editors 

100,000 chickens die every day inside British factory farming sheds.
The cause of death is not routinely investigated or recorded.(3) 
For more information, contact Andrew Tyler or Kate Fowler-Reeves on
01732 364 546. 
Full background can be found on Animal Aid's fact sheet, "Bird Flu: A
Disease of the Intensive Poultry Industry." 
We have ISDN line for broadcast quality interviews. 
Reference 

Fact sheet No. 0458.05 Questions & Answers: Avian Influenza 
Dr Martin Williams, letter to The Independent, 25/4/06 
Caroline Le Sueur, senior scientific officer at the RSPCA 
    
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 Animal Aid campaigns peacefully against all animal abuse, and
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