22nd February 2006 Wild Birds are Victims not Villains in Bird
Flu Fiasco, says Viva! The focus on wild birds in the hysteria
surrounding bird flu is a deliberate distraction from the true
source of the disease ? modern poultry farming ? claims
vegetarian campaigns group Viva! Deadly avian influenza viruses
such as H5N1 are rare in wild birds. The real threat comes from
intensively farmed poultry, kept at high density and constantly
exposed to faeces, saliva and other secretions. These provide
ideal conditions for the replication and mutation of viruses
from which highly lethal forms can evolve and spread. It is no
coincidence that those SE Asian countries which have not
developed large-scale intensive poultry production have largely
been spared from the disease whilst neighbouring countries
experience repeated infections. The UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) reports that in Laos, 42 out of 45 outbreaks
affected intensive poultry units. Myanmar, a country almost
devoid of large scale poultry farms,