Wednesday, July 12, 2006
'If one of our birds had avian flu you wouldn't miss it' BIRD FLU:
THE signs are up around the 90-acre farm near the small Fife town of Craigrothie. Makeshift plastic barriers are in place, preventing movement both in and out of Ring Farm in Cupar, Fife, the property and family business of Moira Henderson, 46, and her husband David.
Together they look after 11,500 chickens, all in cages and therefore at no immediate risk of catching avian flu from wild birds who may or may not be carrying the infection. Nevertheless, nothing is being taken for granted.
"We're definitely taking precautionary measures, " says Henderson as she steps out of her Land Rover a few feet away from a sign warning strangers not to pass that point.
"We're restricting movement up and down our farm road. Obviously, when you're dealing with poultry you take certain hygiene measures as a matter of course, and are always thinking about bio-diseases. We're taking all the advice issued by Serad [Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department], such as asking our staff to change their shoes when coming in and out of the property." As well as running the farm, Henderson is chair of the Scottish Egg Producers' and Retailers' Association, which represents Scotland's egg industry, and is keen to point out the lack of any known infection in commercial flocks.
"Prevention is better than cure, definitely, but I think it's important to stress that no poultry has been infected with avian influenza, " she says.
"Basically, our task is to try and distance and protect the birds we have on our farm from the wildlife, because we don't know yet how extensive a problem this is, but as large numbers of birds haven't been found I would have to say that it doesn't seem like an outbreak." Contrary to fears of possible public hysteria over the Cellardyke swan, confirmed to be carrying the H5N1 strain of avian influenza which has so far claimed more than 100 lives worldwide, Henderson says the shopkeepers and locals she does business with are taking the whole thing in their stride.
"It hasn't affected our business at all, " she says. "In fact, our sales actually went up significantly on Friday, which admittedly could have something to do with the fact it was the start of the Easter holidays. But I think people in Scotland are quite level- headed, and that means the industry hasn't been affected too badly. The strategy for any kind of outbreak has been planned for more than a year now and we knew what to do.
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