Canadian cull update

[Lisa B]

FOR THE LOVE OF PARROTS REFUGE



BOX 2267 ABBOTSFORD BC V2T 4X2 CANADA



TELEPHONE 604 854 8381



APRIL 20th 2004





This has been an incredibly difficult time for everyone in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. The Avian Influenza virus H7N3 still exists in the poultry industry, and the government officials from CFIA and the Provincial agricultural department are working together to eradicate this by systematically culling infected flocks and ensuring no commercial barns are re-populated until the sanitation and quarantine period proves successful.



Until now there was great uncertainty regarding birds other than those farmed for human consumption. The enormity of the problem resulted in a press release stating that ALL birds would be culled. Sometime later this was updated with the ruling that individual pets, caged and kept inside homes would be exempt from the cull order, at this time. It was still understood that all birds kept in large facilities using buildings other than the household to maintain birds other than poultry would be considered on an individual basis. Everyone was asked to apply for an exemption certificate and to supply there name and address. This caused great concern as no-one wanted to expose their location.



Our location is well known and houses 400 parrots from 40 species, many of which are considered extremely endangered in the wild. We employed the services of a lawyer. I spent hours on the telephone with our avian veterinarian and an unbelievable amount of time searching for scientific information that would fulfil the requirements set out by CFIA for the elusive Exemption Certificate. This included information from people who worked on the task force in California during the recent END crisis and from the refuge in Holland who also recently suffered through an AI epidemic in the poultry industry there. These people willingly gave of their time to assist ‘parrot people’ here in Canada. Many people worked hard to produce a letter writing campaign which resulted in so many letters I would have a hard time to count them – suffice to say I have FILES of generosity. Some wonderful people went as far as to send donations to help towards the legal costs – this also is very much appreciated by us, and tax deductible receipts will follow shortly.



A meeting finally took place with CFIA officials, avian veterinarians and our lawyer. This meeting combined with the letter writing campaign and considerable work with government officials at both Provincial and Federal levels has resulted in some rules being expressed. At this time we have some good breathing space, and provided that the CFIA can keep control of the AI outbreaks the new rules will make us exempt. Their decision that stands at this moment is that if you are 1 km away from an infected poultry barn you are exempt from a cull order. FLOPRS is definitely more than 1 km from any poultry barn. We have a very stringent bio-security system in place. It is very time consuming for everyone who works here and consequently adds greatly to the cost of operations, but it is essential that we adhere to it so that we can prove without a shadow of doubt that we are doing everything humanly possible to prevent this virus from appearing here. To date we have not found any information that proves that parrots can get this virus. When speaking with the refuge in Holland our Dutch representative was told that they were given exemption from the cull because of the papers they and the government had, that stated this fact.

These papers are being made available to us should they be required.



Although it appears as though we have been successful in protecting the parrots, we will remain on high alert until this problem has been overcome. Another poultry operation tested positive yesterday bringing the total to date to 31 farms. The virus is in a totally new area now, although it is still in the quarantine zone of the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.



We at FLOPRS would like to thank everyone who has sent letters and contacted us with words of support, as well as those people who have so generously assisted with the extra costs involved. :!: I believe that your work was the instigator for the meeting with CFIA. Your letters opened their eyes to the reality of birds other than those in a commercial food operation.



Sincerely Wendy Huntbatch and Horst Neumann

For The Love Of Parrots Refuge