RED DEER Ñ Poultry producers are writing detailed disaster plans for the next time avian influenza strikes.
“We need to be better prepared to cope with this type of situation or heaven forbid, one that is even worse,” said David Fuller, president of Chicken Farmers of Canada.
The poultry, egg and primary processor groups are forming a disaster plan that can respond to a crisis in 72 hours or less, handle a mass cull and disposal of dead birds as well as implement immediate quarantines to contain a rapidly spreading disease such as avian flu.
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Fuller said Canada was not ready for the flu outbreak in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley last year that cost the chicken industry about $100 million.
“Nobody can tell us to this day where the AI came from so we are always at risk,” he said in an interview during the annual Alberta poultry conference in Red Deer March 1. It is believed infected wild birds transmit the disease but it is just as likely to be spread by people travelling from infected to clean areas.
Poultry groups want nationally approved rules to start a pre-emptive cull program when a suspect case occurs. In such a program, the suspect farm and its closest neighbours would be locked down.
The industry would shut down the operations and remove birds for testing rather than wait for government to act, which it says would lose valuable time as a disease sweeps through an area.
“If we feel it is in our best interests to knock a flock down, we can knock it down,” he said.
As well, the industry would compensate the producer if the birds tested negative.
To speed up diagnostics, farmers want provincial labs accredited to test suspect cases. Now, Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec have adequate laboratories.
Once birds are killed and tested, the industry wants a national set of standards to deal with proper slaughter and disposal of carcasses.
Since last year’s crisis, producers are developing better working relationships with governments and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. By writing a disaster plan, the industry can take wider responsibility for a contagious disease.
Fuller said the areas most at risk include the Fraser Valley, Ontario’s Niagara peninsula and parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Aaron Falkenberg, retiring president of the Alberta Chicken Producers, said Alberta is at less risk. Most poultry operations are spread out and winters are severe enough to kill germs.
Insisting on a mandatory food safety program for farms gave the industry lead time as farmers learned to become more cautious and practice better biosecurity.
“We’ve got to do a better job and we know it,” Falkenberg said.
Last year, Chicken Farmers of Canada conducted three consumer surveys. The first two in March and April found people were planning to eat less chicken. An October poll showed no lasting impact on chicken consumption.
