59 eagles seized and culled
This is actually an old news which I get in a newspaper in Malaysia. Sometimes lots of bird will be killed due to some restriction that people had… pity the bird.
Here is the news:
59 eagles seized and culled
Malay Mail, 22 Nov 2005
The Veterinary Services Department (VSD) recently seized and destroyed 50 pet birds which a trader and an individual tried to bring into the country despite the recent ban on the import of all birds.
Department director-general Datuk Dr Hawari Hussein said a consignment of 49 eagles, which are a protected species, was intercepted and confiscated at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) early this month.
Last month, the department confiscated a single tekukur (songbird) at the Bukit Kayu Hitam check-point in Kedah.
The eagles, which were intercepted at the KLIA quarantine centre, had been brought in by a bird trader in transit to an unknown foreign destination while the tekukur was brought in by an individual. All the birds were culled.
“We are not taking any chances. Although these people tried to bring in the birds legally, the ban on the import of all birds, regardless of their health, stays. We are serious about this as our priority is to keep the bird flu virus
at bay,” said Dr Hawari.
Asked why the department did not send the eagles back to their country of origin, instead of culling them, since they were an endangered species, he said the threat of the bird flu overrides everything else.
He said the department has so far not detected any attempt to smuggle in pet birds and they would continue to monitor all entry points.
Since the outbreak of the avian flu, the VSD banned the import of all birds and eggs from the affected countries. The ban was extended to cover all species of birds and from all countries from Oct 26 following the detection of the virulent strain of the bird flu in a parrot in Britain and the decision by the European Union to ban imports of pet birds from outside the bloc.
On appeals by some licensed bird breeders to give them some leeway in importing exotic birds, Dr Hawari said the breeders should take a more responsible attitude and understand the threat we are facing. They should co-operate with us instead of encouraging smuggling activities.”
“Once it is safe, we will review the ban but until then, they should understand that this is also for their benefit.”
On Nov 16, bird breeders and pet shop owners urged the department to lift the blanket ban on the import of pet birds, saying that the indefinite ban had not only affected business but encouraged unscrupulous traders to smuggle in birds from neighboring countries.
This year, 7,918 pet birds were imported mainly from the Netherlands, Belgium, Jamaica and Singapore.
The H5N1 strain began sweeping through poultry populations in Asia in 2003. It has killed or forced the culling of tens of millions of birds and killed more than 60 people in South-East Asia, mostly in Vietnam and Thailand.
Most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds but officials warn that the virus can mutate into a form that can easily spread among humans, possibly triggering a global pandemic that may kill millions.
August 4th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
You may want to see the following posting by a blogger on our site.
(We have today added your blog to the best bird flu blogs section of our site) :
THE GLOBAL BIRD HOLOCAUST.
By jmtom, blogging at http://www.birdflunewsflash.com
I see that the Irish have decided on gassing their chickens to death.
The Irish Government has apparently destroyed 4,000 chickens, in a DUMMY RUN of its plans for curbing the spread of bird flu in Ulster.
Curbing the spread of Bird Flu?????
I Did not know that Bird Flu was already spreading in Ulster!
I suppose that is, well, kind of a humane way to kill the poor creatures, as opposed to burning them alive, as some other countries have been doing.
Over 300 million bird from around the world have been killed over the last year or so.
Vast majority of these birds (over 99%) had nothing to do with the bird flu virus, were completely healthy and were minding their own business, doing what birds do.
They were killed “just-in-case”!
Any way, here is the Irish Way to do it:
—————————————————————————————————-
Belfast Telegraph Home > News
4,000 Ulster hens gassed to death in bird flu dry run
By Linda McKee
27 July 2006
The Government has destroyed 4,000 chickens in a dummy run of its plans for curbing the spread of bird flu in Ulster.
The hens, which had reached the end of their laying life, were destroyed near Cookstown by Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) staff testing a gas-based method of killing the birds.
Under European law, DARD staff are required to develop a contingency plan to tackle any outbreak of avian influenza and carry out real-time exercises to assure its effectiveness.
This week’s test was carried out under controlled conditions and was followed by a debrief at Loughry Campus of the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise.
A spokesman said: “This structured rehearsal was held after the trial to evaluate the efficacy of this methodology.
“Almost 40 DARD staff and observers from industry, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Agriculture and Food participated in this operational trial.
“It was one of a series of such trials held on an ongoing basis to test all aspects of the Epizootic Disease Contingency Plan and ensure Northern Ireland’s readiness to handle any future outbreaks of epizootic disease.”
Health chiefs in Ulster have already carried out a number of dummy runs to test the healthcare system’s readiness for any outbreak.
One high-level test, dubbed Operation Spring Chicken, was based on a nightmare scenario involving poultry workers contracting the H5N1 virus.
The exercise, organised by the Southern and Western Health Boards, involved setting up a special anti-viral treatment area with the help of doctors, nurses and communicable disease specialists.