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Berkut
16-03-2006, 06:46 PM
I saw in the paper today a buzzard has been found dead in Denmark.Suspected cause of death is bird flu.Awaiting pm to see if the HN51 strain.
Sprout
16-03-2006, 06:48 PM
In the last 3 weeks I must have had 30+ phone calls from people finding dead birds - it is getting very frustrating. DEFRA are not interested at all when we tell them to ring up, all they say is bird flu is not in UK, throw it in the bin, so they want to bring it to the practice so we can confirm it wasn't bird flu - which we cant!
Renton
16-03-2006, 06:50 PM
In the last 3 weeks I must have had 30+ phone calls from people finding dead birds - it is getting very frustrating. DEFRA are not interested at all when we tell them to ring up, all they say is bird flu is not in UK, throw it in the bin, so they want to bring it to the practice so we can confirm it wasn't bird flu - which we cant!

All down to the media-driven panic over avian influenza!
Barney
16-03-2006, 06:55 PM
What if one of the 30+ did have bird flu and no one is testing them it could be spreading here and we dont know about it, surelly we should be testing everything just incase regardless of the cost, sticking our heads in the sand isnt gonna make this thing disapear....graham
Sprout
16-03-2006, 06:57 PM
Do you know how much that would cost? Don;t forget it is your taxes paying for it!! Bird flu will first show in aquatic birds ie migrating waterfowl anyway. If EVERY dead bird found was tested it would probably bankrupt the government!
Sprout
16-03-2006, 06:58 PM
H5N1 is highly fatal in birds, so the odd bird found is not a concern - if a pond full of ducks died then be concerned!
Renton
16-03-2006, 07:05 PM
What if one of the 30+ did have bird flu and no one is testing them it could be spreading here and we dont know about it, surelly we should be testing everything just incase regardless of the cost, sticking our heads in the sand isnt gonna make this thing disapear....graham

It is inevitable that the H5N1 strain will arrive in the UK; large-scale testing of dead wild birds would be extremely expensive, overload veterinary labs and would achieve very little other than, perhaps, giving a early indication of when avian influenza reaches the UK. There are no control measures that can be applied to the wild bird population and the primary concern is to prevent an outbreak within the poultry industry.
Hawkmaster
16-03-2006, 09:23 PM
THREAD MOVED FROM GENERAL FALCONRY AS USUAL
Renton
16-03-2006, 10:08 PM
THREAD MOVED FROM GENERAL FALCONRY AS USUAL

As usual!!!