Thankfully, Defra seems to have managed to contain the outbreak of Avian Flu at a single site in Suffolk. They’ve quarantined the area, arranged a series of concentric protection zones around it and are culling all 160,000 turkeys at the site.
It’s mere nimbyism on my part that I oppose trucking the 160,000 dead, infected carcasses 200 or so miles across the country to be ‘rendered’ a mile or two upwind from here; Is my house full of the lingering smell of smouldering poultry? Indeed it is - but that’s because I forgot about the chicken I was roasting for last night’s supper. There is no threat to poultry here and I’ve complete faith in the people who usually manage to handle everything so well.
Now, off to buy another freezer; The local butcher’s expecting a huge consignment of dirt-cheap “twizzlers” next week.
Added: Of course, if we learn anything at all from this, it’s how much the meaning of the phrase, “The risk to public health is minimal.” can be altered merely by preceding it with the words: “Patricia Hewitt said:”
Song playing as this was published: Beth Orton - “Thinking About Tomorrow”
Har har - yes too true. It is rather worrying though that every time something goes wrong with any animals the British have, millions are immediately killed and burnt.
How long before the twin problems of bird-flu and renewable energy sources are combined and the first poultry-fired power stations are constructed?
Of course, there’s also the question of what to do when you see one of the trucks coming towards you, empty on its way from the factory and you’re driving the car, what do you do? Yes,yes, I KNOW it’s completely safe, and I’m SURE the truck had been thoroughly disinfected, but that didn’t stop me fiddling with the air conditioning buttons, alternately ‘recirculating air inside the car’ then drawing in fresh, but THROUGH THE POLLEN FILTER, then opening the windows because MAYBE THE VIRUS IS TRAPPED INSIDE THE CAR NOW!
Look. It’s a long time since I studied any virology or epidemiology and my brain isn’t always rational.