Inexpensive consumer store chicken threatens new "catastrophic" epidemics
A recent report warned that the intensive rearing of chickens whose meat is sold in major consumer stores in Britain, including Tesco, Sainsbury and Co-op, creates an ideal environment for the emergence of new epidemic viruses.
According to the report, the "patchwork" of infection to which birds are exposed creates an almost ideal breeding ground for a potential epidemic disease outbreak.
The study authors warn that a new avian influenza virus with a "high transmission capacity" may make Corona virus appear as a mild disease.
According to the report, the major consumer stores are primarily responsible for this "cruel and dangerous" poultry system. In order to maintain low prices, it is believed that the shops buy poultry from farms that raise poultry in very crowded conditions, which means the possibility of diseases spreading among them. Easily.
There are also allegations that they use unnaturally rapidly growing GM strains, known as "frankenchickens," which are "birds practically unable to ward off infection when they start" because their immune systems are so weak.
The scientists and authors of the report, titled "British Epidemic: Cruelty and Danger Associated with Super Market Chickens", cite scientific literature to prove that such cheap chicken leads to a new "catastrophic" epidemic.
About one billion chickens are raised (for their meat) in the United Kingdom annually, making it the most widely kept wild-farm species in the country.
Animal welfare groups have previously said that most UK farmed chickens are selectively raised so that they grow at an exponential rate similar to fattening a human child, reaching a weight of 28 sixty (177 kilograms) at just three years old.
The report, which was prepared for the association "Open Cages" or charitable animal cages, says that its warning is far from what could be described as a punishment day scenario, explaining: "Bird flu was a rare disease among chickens one day, but now it spreads every year." ".
Previously, scientists said that new diseases that may turn into epidemics have become recurring four times more during the past half century. In 2007 the World Health Organization warned that infectious diseases were emerging at an unprecedented rate.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one of the bird flu strains, called H7N9, has caused 1,568 human infections and 616 deaths globally since 2013.
And only during the first three months of this year, 16 cases of bird flu were confirmed in the United Kingdom.
The report warns that "an avian influenza pandemic of the size of the Corona epidemic will be devastating, not only in terms of deaths, but also in disrupting the economy to a degree that makes life different." The 1918 influenza pandemic (known as Spanish Flu) is believed to have killed 50 million people and originated among birds.
Scientists warned earlier this year that it is alarming to indicate that the H7N9 virus will be worse, and possibly much worse, than the 1918 pandemic if it manages to achieve sustainable transmission between humans.
The authors (professor of neuroscience David Highlights and veterinary professor Andrew Knight) add that humans are exposed to "massive quantities" of biological materials (leaked) from chicken farms, such as body fluids, and avian viruses found in samples taken from the air up to a distance of 110 miles (177 kilometers) from infected farms. But as the report says, measures to deal with this do not address the root causes of the disease.
Of the major UK supermarkets, only Waitrose and Marks & Spencer have signed up to the "Commit to Better Chicken" policy that promises to improve the welfare of poultry by 2026.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said that the chain store is the UK's largest retailer of products that are guaranteed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, explaining, "While we are committed to improving animal welfare practices that the 'commitment to better chicken' policy is trying to achieve, we believe that following A different approach is more effective. The way we have been working with our farmers has been different for years ... We have created a cycle to measure, manage and continually improve the health and well-being of our animals, and we believe the results are the best evidence. "
A spokesperson for Co-op said that the chickens carrying the chain’s trademark are “raised according to the high standards of the“ Red Tractor ”Farm Safety Program, and that the high quality chickens meet the standards of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ".
Adding, "We also have our own stringent standards of care, which are monitored by the Co-Op group dedicated to raising chickens. We are constantly reviewing the methods for obtaining products and reviewing the requirements for applying the European Commitment to Chickens to our supply chains."
In turn, Tesco stores said, according to a spokeswoman, “The breeding rooms for the types of chickens that are sold under the“ luxury ”and“ organic ”varieties we have, which are guaranteed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, meet all the objectives of the policy of“ commitment to better chicken ”or excel on her". She added that Tesco chickens are subject to (or exceed) approved luxury standards, those standards set by the government, known as "Red Tractor".
The spokeswoman added, "We have strict biosecurity measures in place to reduce the risk of disease among our poultry, and these measures include identifying biologically safe areas for entering farms and barns, and stations for sterilizing shoes at the entrances to all places where birds are housed, and disinfecting the wheels of vehicles and equipment."
Andrew Obie, of the British Retailers Association, said, "Retailers expect that their suppliers will comply with all legal requirements and additional standards, if possible, such as the Red Tractor safety program, which requires storage at less than the legal minimum density. They take very seriously their responsibilities. Toward animal welfare. "
On the other hand, Lidl and Aldi referred to the British Retail Federation’s statement as an answer to the Independent’s question in the matter, while Azda and Morrisons did not respond so far to what was mentioned in this article.
© The Independent
