The Role of the Intensive Poultry Production Industry in the Spread of Avian Influenza
A report by Compassion in World Farming
February 2007
Executive summary
Wild birds have taken much of the blame for the spread of H5N1 across the world but this report by Compassion in World Farming unveils evidence showing that the development of highly pathogenic strains of bird flu lies at the door of factory farming.
The past two decades have seen a complete transformation in the poultry industry with a 300% increase in production across the world. This increase is, by and large, thanks to reliance on intensive farms and a transnational production system. Poultry production is now a global affair.
An intensive poultry farm provides the optimum conditions for viral mutation and transmission - thousands of birds crowded together in a closed, warm and dusty environment is highly conducive to the transmission of a contagious disease.
Selecting generation after generation of birds for their faster growth rates and higher meat yields has left the birds’ immune systems less able to cope with infections and there is a high degree of genetic uniformity in the population, making spread of the virus all the more easy.
Further intensification of the industry has been suggested by some as the solution to avian flu, on the rationale that keeping birds indoors will prevent contamination.
However, this relies on perfect, fail-safe biosecurity – and such measures are near impossible to implement.
Movement between farms of people, materials and vehicles poses a threat and breaches in biosecurity are inevitable.
Intensive farming is creating highly virulent avian ‘flu strains. When we factor in the frequent flow of goods within and between countries, the potential for disease spread is high.
Compassion in World Farming believes that current and proposed H5N1 control measures are not based on the best available evidence, and is calling for an enquiry into the role of the global, intensive poultry industry in the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Whilst not denying that wild birds, backyard and free range farms naturally play a role in the spread of the current epidemic, continuing to focus containment measures on poultry is misguided and ignores the overwhelming evidence pointing towards other often more important routes of spread - namely the global trade in live poultry
and poultry products. The spread of H5N1 from China to Europe, Africa and the Middle East correlates with major road and rail routes rather than bird migratory routes or seasons. Keeping massive numbers of poultry on intensive farms worldwide is now coming
back to bite us. The solution lies in bringing an end to factory farming and the
conditions that can act as a disease pressure cooker, instead rearing animals using
humane and sustainable farming methods.
Main:http://www.ciwf.org/publications/rep..._Avian_Flu.pdf
Conclusion
Compassion in World Farming believes that current and proposed H5N1 control
measures are not based on the best available evidence, and that an enquiry should
be conducted into the role of the global, intensive poultry production
industry in the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Whilst
acknowledging the partial role played by wild birds, backyard and free range farms in
the spread of the current epidemic, we propose that continuing to focus all the
attention and containment measures on these agents is misguided and ignores the
overwhelming data pointing towards other routes of spread - namely the global trade
in poultry and poultry products. Additionally, we propose that intensive poultry
production systems are a significant risk factor for continued emergence of HPAIs,
and for evolution towards increased virulence of the current HPAI H5N1 strain.
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