All this week, May 14 - May 20 -- "Bird Flu on the Way" : Fiday's Topic: Why cull (kill) so many birds?

How do we feel about culling (killing) chickens and other birds? Is this an effective way of stopping the spread of H5N1?

Even if it is effective, is it something we are condoning or endorsing?

Are there other measures that would be more effective?

Does killing chickens actually spread H5N1?

Do we feel that killing chickens to save human lives is justifiable? On what grounds?

How can we protect our own or our shelter’s birds and other animals from being culled (killed)?

What is the relationship beyween killing birds and factory farming?

It seems to me the main reason so many birds have to be killed in factory farms has to do with the shear number of birds to begin with and how closely they are housed together. For millions of birds to be placed in a quarantine on these huge farms is not only impractical but because the birds are so close together, the likelihood of a wide spread of disease is high, so culling the whole flock and cleaning down the whole facility may be the only way to stop the spread. So I feel the problem really stems from this system of farming that has developed to meet the demand for large quantities of cheap meat.

For small farms, sanctuaries and backyard poultry, quarantine seems far more manageable and if done correctly, would prevent the spread of disease as effectively as culling.

Nicole,

Yes, it all seems to lead back to factory farming, doesn't it? It's such a horrible way to treat birds in the first place.

It seems that once people perceive animals as food, then it seems to follow that they begin to treat them as objects rather than as living beings. The whole idea of "culling" implies that the animals are just "things" to be dispensed with.

This is a posting from our Forum Guest Amy Corrigan of ACRES, Singapore. It was originally posted as a comment to Merritt Clifton's blog:

It would be a tragedy if the bird flu virus, whose spread has undoubtedly been greatly facilitated by factory farming methods, is now threatening the whole free-range farming industry. The concept of free-range farming (although far from ideal) is about the only thing that has brought some sort of “humanity” to the animal farming industry in recent years.

Moving free-ranging birds indoors is surely no guarantee that they will not be affected by the bird flu virus, as no indoor facility is entirely secure from invasion by other animals, such as rodents, who could easily bring disease in. It appears that the bird flu virus can spread to animals other than birds, so simply preventing contact between farmed birds and wild birds is by no means a guarantee that the disease will not enter indoor bird farming systems via other means and vectors.

We have seen time and time again that crowding birds into unnaturally large congregations indoors creates a perfect breeding ground for disease. Surely it is better to have a less stressed and therefore healthier, more disease-resistant flock outside in a free-range system, than risk moving the birds indoors and producing an unhealthy indoor flock due to the stresses associated with being indoors and likelihood of overcrowding. Yes, the free- range birds may be more likely come into contact with wild birds but, as explained above, keeping birds indoors does not necessarily mean they will not be exposed to the virus. It seems that if viruses such as bird flu enter high density, stressed and unhealthy populations (such as in indoor farming systems), they are likely to become more virulent.

Our fear is that if farmers in Europe start reverting from free-range to indoor farming systems because of the bird flu virus, then any hope of countries in other parts of the world such as Asia moving towards free-range systems may unfortunately diminish as they may well follow the example currently being set by the Western world and be afraid to explore the possibility of free-range farming systems in the future.

Acres, Singapore

Amy's comments re.the potential catastrophic effects of this whole event on the free-range farming industry are beautifully stated, and tragic.

One thing that I have learned by my very limited and insular involvement in this tragedy is that neither compassion for animals nor (at times) scientific reason rules the day. Magnificent and endangered birds such as parrots and cockatoos--which to date at least have NEVER contracted this disease--have been slaughtered in the hundreds, without testing or quarantine, and by, in some cases, brutal methods (as have the fowl). Reason is ignored: mention "pandemic" and rational choices are often not made.

If anything "talks", it seems to be fear or money. There'a alot of money to be made on stockpiling Tamiflu--even if its effectiveness is perhaps limited--rather than directly considering the issues Amy raised. Think of all the millions and billions of dollars spent on a possible epidemic of avian influenza (the number of fatalities still under 120; "pandemic" isn't even a consideration yet) yet every year, tens of thousands die from 'garden-variety' 'flu' in the U.S. alone.

In Washington State, it was impossible to convince egg 'farmers' to clean up henhouses a bit by showing them that Salmonella passes from hen to egg directly without visible cracks in the egg--but only money talks!

I wish I had answers; I don't. I'm just noting that people seem to need incentives to do anything, and that neither compassion for animals nor scientific evidence (like global warning...) is likely to get to "them".... One has to find and include that incentive...

I'm not trying to be a pessimist , just a realist, even while I --like everyone participating in this Forum--hungrily await the paradigm shift when people globally finally realize that all creatures not only deserve dignity, respect and compassion, but that
they bring us whole new joyful universes. Now THERE'S an incentive, if only everyone could see it...

Stewart Metz

Dr. Metz,

Every word you said is very much to the point! You're not being pessimistic at all - just truthful.

And if we don't start with the truth, what are we going to start with?

I agree that what many of us have learned in this tragedy, as you said, "is that neither compassion for animals nor (at times) scientific reason rules the day."

"If anything talks, it seems to be fear or money" -- in other words, "fear or greed". Do you feel it would be fair to say that this is has been the history of our species' relationship with animals? and with the planet earth itself?

Your description of people killing the cockatoos, simply out of fear, is a similar thing.

Were they just gangs of people? Was that happening on the island of Seram? Has there been H5N1 on the island?

Your basic point is totally realistic. People, on the whole, respond to incentives. If they were going to see new beautiful universes through their appreciation of the animals, they wouldn't be capable of killing them in the first place. They would, instead of seeing "food" or "plague-carriers", see something divinely beautiful instead.

Many ancient peoples revered, and some people still revere, the spirits of the forest, including the birds.

The concept of birds carrying disease is perhaps more a modern concept than an ancient one. What do you think?

Question: Who was killing the endangered parrots?

No, in answer to your question, Sharon, it wasn't thugs who were killing parrots and cockatoos--it was government officials--at least in Taiwan and the Philippines. Both countries were proudly announcing how well they had kept their countries avian influenza-free; but in doing so, it came out that (in the case of the Philippines), government officials had killed at least 839 (reported) cockatoos and parrots out of fear that they MIGHT have the bug. In Indonesia, there were reports of parrots being burned, but the orders came from the government, although the status of culling there seems to change at frequent intervals.

As far as Seram goes (Seram is in the "Spice Islands" in the Eastern Archipelago of Indonesia and is the sole remaining natural home of the magnificent Salmon-crested cockatoo), I had put in a very late comment a few days ago--I apologize--so let me just repeat it here:
At first there were rumblings of concerns that the workers --(most of them ex-bird trappers) --at the our Rehab Center for confiscated, smuggled parrots might refuse to work there due to fears about contracting avian influenza. That was at the height of the panic when the initial deaths in Indonesia were being reported. I told them that no parrots had contracted bird flu and that to stand behind my beliefs, I would drink the water from any of the parrots' cages. There were no more concerns after that.
By the way, I can't resist a plug here--the people in Indonesia are WONDERFUL!! Do not listen to political stories--it is safe and welcoming-- try to visit--you will love it there.

As for the changing perception of birds throughout the ages, what a fascinating but complex question--which I wish I could fully answer. With regard to parrots, Bruce Thomas Boehrer has written a fascinating book "Parrot Culture" [2004] which goes over our "2500-year long fascination" with these ever-charismatic creatures. In history, the perception of parrots waxed between the miraculous and the ridiculous; I don't recall any any general association with disease or pestilence.[However, a viral infection was said to be observed in a fossil of a bird living 90 million years ago!]

Stewart Metz

Dr. Metz,

I found part of the answer to one of my questions on your website: http://www.indonesian-parrot-project.org/news.html

 
INDISCRIMINATE SLAUGHTER OF RARE PARROTS AND COCKATOOS:  

The 'Collateral Damage' of the War on "Bird Flu"

"....Despite this scientific fact, both Indonesia and the Philippines have recently taken to culling large numbers of these beloved but vanishing birds, even in the absence of any solid medical justification. In the Philippines (as reported in a Philippines Information Agency Press Release; March 1, 2006), 339 smuggled parrots were killed following confiscation, merely out of an imagined fear that they might carry AIAlthough quarantine with testing for the virus could have excluded this possibility, these simple steps apparently were not carried out."

The rest of the article can be found at: http://www.indonesian-parrot-project.org/news.html

Dr. Metz,

Thank you for clarifying that--so it was government agents who were killng the parrots in Taiwan and the Phillippines.

That sounds like an intriguing book: Parrot Culture

Yes, I read about the workers in your rehab center. Your reply, offering to drink out of the parrots' water dishes, seems to have been effective!

The workers, who are ex-bird trappers, are an amazing story in themselves. I recall that part of the work of The Indonesian Bird Project/Project Bird Watch is to offer employment to bird trappers in exchange for them giving up trapping--which has been enormously successful. That way smuggling of endangered cockatoos is much decreased, and the cockatoo populations have a chance to recover.

You also employ ex-trappers as eco-tour guides if they will give up trapping. Are you still doing your eco-tours of Seram Island? How do people find out about those?

I found this on the website of Dr. Martin Williams http://www.drmartinwilliams.com/component/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,137/func,view/id,630/catid,7/

It is the first paragraph of a report from Richard Thomas of Birdlife International. The paragraph implies a cause and effect connection between the culling/killing of domestic fowl and the transfer of the diease to wild birds, in this case, to a Bar-headed Goose.

(Bar-headed geese are birds who fly incredibly high, sometimes as high as 30,000 feet, I believe. They fly over the Himalayas on their migrating route.)

A Bar-headed Goose was discovered dead, infected with H5N1, in Qinghai, China, early in 2006, a year after an outbreak of H5N1. Richard Thomas writes:

"The rediscovery of H5N1 in Qinghai a year after the first report is indeed intriguing and throws up many questions. It recalls the two outbreaks in Lhasa poultry market, in January 2004 and then again, more than a year later, in August 2005. Both of these were traced back to the city of Lanzhou, according to FAO. [Indeed, according to ProMed, FAO traced the second of these outbreaks back to a commercial poultry factory in the city]."

Read the rest of the report:
http://www.drmartinwilliams.com/component/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,137/func,view/id,630/catid,7/

Does this mean that culling domestic fowl may be spreading H5N1 into the wild population, rather than containing the virus?

Sharon's question about
tours to see Indonesian cockatoos, lories and parrots (and other birds) in the wild:

Yes, we still run 2 eco-tours a year (http://indonesian-parrot-project.org/eco/upcomingtrips.html). This year, the first half of August is to Seram; the second half is to West Papua. Our very special guest for the Seram limb is Rosemary Low--which I am very excited about, since she's not only a world's authority on parrots, but a major advocate for the compassionate treatment of parrots--indeed of all birds and animals--among all the experts. If you are fascinated by birds, I recommend her book
'Fabulous Feathers, Remarkable Birds' which has fascinating tidbits about various species. Rosemary is an incredible role model.

What a contrast (I realize I am rambling here) but if you read her book, or are as incredibly fortunate as I and see these astonishingly fabulous birds fly in the wild, you probably view them as resplendent, miraculous
beings. But then for commercial reasons , we stick them (be "they" chickens or parrots) into tiny cages and replace their joy in living with gloom and overwork. Then along comes the threat of a pandemic and we both demonize and slaughter them. Sharon asked as one question for today, how does all this culling make us feel. I don't know how to describe my sadness at this tragedy, but it seems to me it might be something like (allegorically speaking) Adam after being ejected from the Garden of Eden--paradise lost, intermixed with disgust at the folly of Mankind.

Stewart Metz

its very sad the way they are killing so many birds and even though not all of them is infected. these are nothing but precautionary measures, but still i ask myself is it worth it?