urbanriot I write this to convey that I’m neither for or against this event, I’m simply stating it’s rational that the farm is behaving as the farm is behaving.
It is anything but rational, nor is it a “good fight”. They are behaving like a bunch of quacks, and prolonging a potentially dangerous situation. Already, a variant descended from the strain found in the ostrich carcasses was found in the United States.
A virologist recently interviewed in the CBC reporting said that transmission is still possible, that the ostriches may still be shedding virus, and that further testing would be impractical, hazardous and very expensive. She has concerns that HPAI may be the basis for the next pandemic among humans.
The farm-owners and their spokesperson (and some animal-rights groups) kept talking of additional testing, but they’re broke. Who would pay for it?
The limiting factor in all of this is our lack of knowledge about the virus. We simply don’t know all of the details about how it spreads, if immunity develops, how long it lasts if it does, etc. The only thing we know is that it spreads very effectively, and can be deadly in many animals. There has been at least one known fatal human case recently.
Lastly, I must point out again that it wasn’t two birds out of 400. They started with about 400; the virus killed 69. The farm failed to report the deaths, and it was only through an anonymous tip that this came to light; they were apparently planning to sweep it under the rug. Two were tested, with positive results.
Do other poultry farmers not have a right to their businesses? Should they be subject to additional import bans because these farmers want to draw out the process as long as possible?