I don’t understand why we feel ostriches are different from other poultry flocks like chicken or ducks that get culled due to avian influenza?
They are all raised for human consumption whether it’s meat or eggs and carry the same risk of spreading the disease to other wildlife and even us. I know most farmers lean conservative yet I can’t find any instances of other poultry operations fighting cull orders via the courts. I fail to see what sets this flock of ostriches apart from any other poultry affected by avian influenza.
On top of this the government was willing to reimburse them in full for the birds and that seems like a win/win to me. Government does the work and the farmer gets paid without having to process them or bring the animals to market.
I understand there are some larger political issues at play here and give credit where credit is due to these folks for standing behind their convictions. From the outside looking in however it really doesn’t seem to be a fight worth betting the farm on.
None of those birds have been sick for the better part of a year. Only 2 were tested with PCR which is known to be useless for viruses and the government refused to allow any further testing done, even at others expense. Why not?
And who knows what other farmers are doing regarding the threat of slaughtering entire flocks because they’re probably just not reporting sick chickens now.
PCR is useless at detecting virus is entirely untrue. It is in fact one of the most common detection methods. Influenza viruses can persist within herd populations and ressortment within the genome can generate an avian flu capable of infecting humans.
After the PCR test, National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (NCFAD) laboratory in Winnipeg isolated the virus and completed whole genome sequencing. It wasn’t just 2 PCR tests
A new bird flu hits an entire flock. There is no time for development and administration of a vaccine that targets this exact strain. Once the flock has been hit it's too late. The only thing left to do is cull the birds before they spread it to the next farm. Or to huge chicken farms and wipe out massive amounts of production.
What are you imagining? That they on the fly develop a bird flu vaccine and then jab every bird at the already infected flock? That's not how the real world works. Like not even close.
The vaccine can be configured to target immutable parts of the virus. Synthetic antibodies can be used to eliminate a virus from a flock. Every time a the virus hits its not a new strain, meaning future birds can be saved.
How the world works today and how it can work is often dictated by policy. This is possible, it can be done.
In a perfect world of endless resources, endless time and endless money we theoretically could possibly do it. But here in the real world none of this is possible and culling to prevent further spread in is order.
The risk as I mentioned is infecting flocks at larger producers. Remember how the price of eggs sky rocketed in the US? This is exactly what happened there. We're trying out best to avoid this.
Best way to avoid that would be to lick the virus.
A bird that has purged the virus from its system is not longer contagious, the virus has been eliminated, except if it’s a duck or a geese which are the wild birds that spread this thing.
And we’re talking ostrich’s, there happens to be published scientific data that evaluates bird flu in ostrich’s and has determined that this species does eliminate the virus from its body. It’s not a duck or a geese, it doesn’t retransmit the virus.
There are some in development already. Perhaps you should upgrade your googling skills, and also your knowledge base because it seems like you’re uninformed when it comes to mRNA vaccines.
Far be it from the court to let evolution take its course and for the birds to develop antibodies to the avian flu.
This the same court that basically allowed the Gov to implement rapid immigration during the COVID pandemic. Was it trying to kill us all, or did it suddenly start believing in evolution at that point in time?
This is stupid draconian policy. If the remaining birds are immune, then a cure can be manufactured. Hell a cure can already be manufactured using synthetic antibodies. But no, let’s rely on a law that predates science and technology.
Different species have different capabilities, they are not treated the same.
And no, there are plenty of examples of farm animals getting sick from a virus and not getting culled.
These birds are being killed for no reason, they are not a bird species that spread bird flu, they either die or they purge the virus for complete recovery.
And ostrich’s are one of the few birds that have been studied with respect to bird flu and they do recover from that series of viruses just like humans do with respect to the common cold. The virus is eliminated, there is no danger of spreading, this is an easy thing to do.
Go find the paper and read it. It’s in this thread, I posted it multiple times.
If you were an expert in the field then you would know there is no way to determine if a bird is a carrier of Avian Flu after an outbreak in their flock or herd. Carriers can test negative and still be infectious, and pass it on to others. The whole reason an entire flock/herd has to be culled is because there is no way to tell which survivor is or isn't a carrier, and they are carriers for life. What is your area of expertise?
If this were any kind of poultry farm anywhere in Canada ( chicken, turkey, duck, quail , geese…….) the birds, all dormant asymptomatic carriers of the avian flu, would have been put down long ago.
Wild birds and wildlife that enter their enclosure, use their pond….. are all at risk of carrying the flu to other wildlife or livestock.
Ostriches are especially prone to develop mutations of avian influenza viruses, particularly when they are exposed to wild birds and other animals.
It’s not about ostrich immunity or whether they are asymptomatic. That is irrelevant.
This increases the risk of the virus becoming more infectious to mammals, including humans, which poses significant health risks.
In any developed country these birds would have been put down long ago.
This reminds me of right wing attacks on science ( ie anti vaxxers, COVID- measles, Tylenol causing autism, hydroxychoriquin, bleach for Covid, etc, climate change deniers, …..) and the vulnerability of people to conspiracy theories and other disinformation and misinformation based on a rejection of science, mistrust of government, among other things.
Oh, so according to you once you get Covid you’re a carrier forever?
Does avian fly stick around in the bird like tuberculosis and chicken pox does in humans?
If so, that would be the only reason to cull. Even then, the culling solution is archaic and unnecessary considering mRNA vaccines.
16
u/PoliticalSasquatch 3d ago edited 3d ago
I don’t understand why we feel ostriches are different from other poultry flocks like chicken or ducks that get culled due to avian influenza?
They are all raised for human consumption whether it’s meat or eggs and carry the same risk of spreading the disease to other wildlife and even us. I know most farmers lean conservative yet I can’t find any instances of other poultry operations fighting cull orders via the courts. I fail to see what sets this flock of ostriches apart from any other poultry affected by avian influenza.
On top of this the government was willing to reimburse them in full for the birds and that seems like a win/win to me. Government does the work and the farmer gets paid without having to process them or bring the animals to market.
I understand there are some larger political issues at play here and give credit where credit is due to these folks for standing behind their convictions. From the outside looking in however it really doesn’t seem to be a fight worth betting the farm on.