WAV Comment – Like the recent incident in New Zealand; they are only chickens !

Even though tens of thousands of lives will be taken in the cull; the message is a simple statement that consumers must not worry as their Christmas Turkey dinner is not affected.  That’s it – in a way you could say that despite the cull, these birds may be the lucky ones – spared a continuing life in an intensive system; having to not endure cruel capture and transportation to the slaughterhouse – and what do they go through when they get there ?  – Public Health England simply describe the issue as ‘low risk to humans’, and ‘food safety is not at risk’.  So, another 27,000 deaths just written off with the simple strike of a pen ordering the cull.  We say – the cruelty of intensive food production 2019.  Ban the Cage Age !

 

 

Bird flu strikes farm in Suffolk as 27,000 chickens are killed

 

https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/11/bird-flu-strikes-farm-suffolk-27000-chickens-killed-11717855/?ico=pushly-notifcation-small&utm_source=pushly

 

All pictures below – Getty Images.

 

Around 27,000 chickens are due to be culled following a bird flu outbreak at a farm in Suffolk. A number of birds at the commercial chicken farm, close to Eye, were found to have the H5 strain of avian flu. However, industry leaders have reassured shoppers that Christmas turkey supplies will be unaffected by the disease, and the Food Standards Agency confirmed that food safety is not at risk. The disease has also been identified as having low risk to humans by Public Health England. A one-kilometre exclusion zone has now been set up around the farm to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council (BPC), said the group is also working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to ensure the outbreak is contained. He continued: ‘The health of our birds remains the priority for BPC member businesses up and down the country. I would like to urge all commercial and non-commercial producers to maintain effective biosecurity on their premises, remain alert for any signs and report suspected disease immediately.’ A spokeswoman for the BPC added: ‘There is no link whatsoever to the Christmas turkey market. It is unaffected by this case. ‘This is a specific farm in Suffolk and the birds are being culled.’

An investigation is also under way to determine the most likely source of the outbreak. Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss encouraged bird keepers to ‘remain alert for any signs of disease’. She said: ‘Report suspected disease immediately and ensure they are maintaining good biosecurity on their premises. ‘We are urgently looking for any evidence of disease spread associated with this strain to control and eliminate it.’

 

Make the Connection !

11^th September, after a long and tough year of campaigning; the ‘European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) closed. The demand was to inspire 1 Million people across the EU to add their voice in demanding a ban on ALL caged farming.

 

 

If successful, an ECI can be a powerful weapon. If more than 1 million signatures are collected, then the European Commission is legally obliged to respond. But with this campaign success was uncertain, but hopeful knowing the concerns of many good animal folk across the continent.

 

 

This year, out of 45 ECI’s which were started, only 4 gained the number of signatures.

 

For the cage ban campaign, the fate of millions of pigs, rabbits, calves, hens, and many other animals trapped for weeks or months in cruel cages was the factor. 170 organisations – ranging from animal welfare, through environmental and also consumer rights joined together to make their voices heard. There were over 200 street protests across the EU working together for the animals.

 

 

In July; CIWF (England) launched a very hard hitting undercover investigation into Polish farms that were keeping calves in solitary confinement for much of their lives. The harrowing footage was shown across the EU. EU citizens were demanding change !

 

 

When the ECI came to a close in September this year (2019); the biggest push for farm animal welfare the EU has ever seen reached a conclusion.

 

 

1.6 Million signatures had been collected demanding an end to the Cage Age.

 

So; what next ?

 

All the signatures are now being scrutinised by member states. This could take several months. A minimum of 1 Million signatures must be validated; once done, they will be formally presented to the European Commission, triggering a formal process where the Commission must respond. There could be a public hearing, as well as a possible vote in the European Parliament.

 

 

Your voices; 1.6 Million of them, are just the start in what could be a lengthy process to get justice for the caged animals in Europe. But the start has been victorious, and now we must move on the end the Cage Age.

 

We will be calling on you when necessary to give further support to the fight. We know we can rely on you.

 

 

Regards Mark – WAV.

Produced with help from CIWF – https://www.ciwf.org.uk/

 

 

WAV Comment – has this grabbed attention ? – well, we are talking about chickens actually, not human lives.  Both sentient creatures; both with feelings and a wish to survive.

“It is the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) job to monitor that factory farms have working emergency back-up systems. So was this farm being effectively monitored? It looks like yet again, MPI hasn’t had the resources to ensure this factory farm wasn’t breaking the law”.

Lets hope that nightclubs used by the human species are monitored better !

 

OPINION: Nearly 200,000 deaths by suffocation, because of a power cut. What a tragedy and a terrible way to die.

New Zealand is a nation of animal lovers. We lavish attention on our dogs, we dote on our cats, often valuing them as important members of our families.

If this tragedy had involved dogs or cats, this appalling loss of life would be the lead story on all the news bulletins and the subsequent investigation would be a topic on everyone’s minds for weeks. But when the individuals who perished in such a terrible way are chickens, it’s just a passing bit of shock news.

It is the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) job to monitor that factory farms have working emergency back-up systems. So was this farm being effectively monitored? It looks like yet again, MPI hasn’t had the resources to ensure this factory farm wasn’t breaking the law

 

READ MORE:
* Mass chicken deaths ‘catastrophic’ and unprecedented, experts say after nearly 200,000 birds die
* Nearly 200,000 chickens die due to power failure at poultry farm, MPI investigates
* Safe releases footage of deformed, dying chickens on free-range farm
* Culture shift needed on ‘Frankenstein’ chickens culled at six weeks old
* Behind New Zealand’s most popular meat

In this case, a simple power cut led to the ventilation supply to these chickens being cut, and both the back-up generator failed and the alarm to alert workers that the chickens were slowly dying.

 

Less than a year ago, at another West Auckland farm that was also part of Tegel’s supply chain, 50,000 birds burned to death. The details that were made public reported a lack of water available for fighting the fire.

 

Just last month, ten thousand more chickens perished on a Whanganui chicken farm and another thousand in the Waikato back in June. This is appalling!

As always, when there are massive corporate profits to be made, animals suffer the consequences. Tegel has refused to require its suppliers to fit sprinkler systems to prevent fires from taking hold in chicken sheds. That would cut into profits, wouldn’t it?

These birds are treated as mere production units, rather than living, breathing beings. Even our Animal Welfare Act recognises that chickens are sentient, accepting that they are fully able to experience a range of emotions. Despite this, the chicken meat industry kills 125 million birds a year in New Zealand. So, the loss of 195,000 birds is presumably just a blip on their production schedules, and insurance will soften the blow.

But taking a look behind the walls of these chicken factory farms, we see that these birds suffer even when it’s business as usual.

Highly selectively bred to double in size each week, their bodies just can’t cope. According to a 2013 Ministry for Primary Industries report, up to a third are painfully lame in the last weeks of their short lives and up to ten thousand die a very stressful death of heart failure or are culled, every day in sheds across New Zealand. The Poultry Industry of New Zealand puts that figure at 6000 – but even that is 6000 individuals that are so sick and deformed that they can’t even survive to the age of six-weeks, when most are taken for slaughter.

These are the birds that are out of sight, out of mind, hidden inside barren window-less sheds. Most people only interact with one of these chickens at mealtimes. Chicken meat is so cheap compared with other meats, that it’s eaten almost without thinking by people who would be appalled if they stepped inside a chicken factory-farm.

 

Few people even know what one of these white-feathered, blue-eyed, overgrown baby-birds looks like.

 

One of these individuals is a chicken who was found in a West Auckland factory farm, trapped on her back, unable to get up. This, sadly, is something that commonly happens with these top-heavy birds. If she’d been left there she would have died, just out of reach of food and water. She would have become just another statistic among the thousands.Instead Womble was taken to a sanctuary, given treatment for her wounds and is living the life she deserves. She has just had her first birthday, so has already lived more than eight times longer than the others left behind in the shed. Her curious, playful personality soon emerged, and her adventures are being followed by many on her Instagram channel.

Kindness and compassion are great qualities to celebrate, and we can widen the circle of our compassion to include all sentient animals. If you care about animals and don’t want to support corporate cruelty, the easy solution is to choose chicken-friendly plant-based alternatives at your supermarket and you can also email MPI, making sure it throws the full force of our animal welfare laws at Tegel for its negligence.

Together we can create an Aotearoa New Zealand that cares about all animals.

Marianne Macdonald is the head of campaigns for the animal welfare group SAFE.

 

 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/117922397/195000-chickens-dead-but-will-anything-change-as-a-result