Bird flu: Wild birds wrongly under suspicion?

Press release, February 06, 2007

Radolfzell. European Nature Heritage Fund (EuroNatur) has asked the EU-Commission and the Federal Minister for Agriculture in Germany, Horst Seehofer, to scrutinize the cause of the recent outbreak of bird flu in Europe. "The fact that once again, a bird farm in England that was almost hermetically cut off from the outside world is affected, should get us thinking", says EuroNatur's president Claus-Peter Hutter.

So far, the main argument was that wild birds pass the disease on domestic animals that are kept outdoors. However, this outbreak once again happened in factory farming where tens of thousands of insulated birds are reared. According to Hutter, it is therefore highly probable that the disease was contracted through infected food or animal transport, and not through wild birds.

EuroNatur points out that sometimes, industrially-made animal food is carried all around the globe, and its ingredients, apart from being disgusting for humans (in some cases, even animal excrements are added), can cause epidemics among animals. The BSE-scandal was also originated by food.

Furthermore, EuroNatur emphasizes the imperative of a casual research, in order not to put at risk the existence of those farms where animals are kept in a species-appropriate environment, i.e. outdoors.

Queries:

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