[harmony]

I can't get the wretched cut and paste thing to work on the guidance doc but.....

The list of restrictions on a protection or surveillance zone doesn't say you can't move the pigs without a licence (I.e Vet approval) it says you can't move pigs to or from premises which have poultry/ captive birds without a licence.

My reading of that is that having poultry is a bigger risk to my ability to move my pigs than not having poultry given a protection zone could happen anywhere anytime.

I did say to eaml2 that the guidelines aren't very clear and she replied saying that if you were in PZ or SZ that the eaml2 system will recognise that and a message will come up. Now clearly that has nothing do with whether you have poultry or not. Pigs can only move on a licence anyway but in the PZ and SZ areas it will be a different licence, requiring a vet, not the general licence you would normally use.


After the end of the month the high risk areas are going to have nothing to do with an actual outbreak but the potential risk of outbreak given the vicinity of water where wild birds collect so given pigs are seen as a risk in the current PZ/SZ then you could assume they will be viewed the same in the new zones.

[harmony]

I don't understand these zones, areas are coloured where we havn't heard of a problem.?

The new zones are about risk potential not just about outbreaks.

[pharnorth]

Thank you [member=24672]harmony[/member] I guess that is about as clear as we are going to get. My take on it is that as poultry are specifically mentioned op with respect to pigs in the guidance getting Vet clearance will be harder if you have poultry.  I'll sit on it over the weekend but my few aging birds are likely to get dispatched next week. 

[ColinS]

The new zones are about risk potential not just about outbreaks.

Does anyone know why the zones are the shape of a 1950s TV screen? 

[PK]

You might remember Reggie Perin identifying new sales areas by grabbing His secretary Miss Jone's handbag, placing on a map and drawing round it.

[ColinS]

So if DEFRA buy some new PC monitors before the 28th we could all be in trouble!

[ColinS]

Here is the latest list for the cases found in wild birds:-

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/591265/ai-findings-1617.csv/preview

Not statistically valid but compared to the end of 2016 where there were multiple cases per week with multiple victims we now seem to be down to one case per week with one victim. Room for a little optimism perhaps.

[big soft moose]

Its not really a surprise - migration season is ending and the northern birds are going back where they came from (the southern birds returning to the uk are less likely to be a problem as the big resevoirs of infection are in the northern asian area)

Give it another month and that will be that until next winter... of course we need to plan for it being an annual or at least most years thing

[ColinS]

Yes, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Perhaps there is something to be learned if (as we hope and as this trend might suggest) we don't end up with our own reservoir in the UK resident bird population which for some of the vulnerable species e.g gulls, Canada geese etc is quite large and in places quite densely packed.

[Backinwellies]

Anyone seen any updates on Wales?

[in the hills]

Nope!

Where do you look for Welsh info., Backinwellies?

I've been looking at the Welsh Government page, Environment and Countryside. Avian Flu features on the 'Topic Highlights' but as far as I can see it was last updated on the 3rd Feb. and I can't see anything about when the current zones are lifted on the 28th.

Guessing that it will be much the same as for England but no info as to high risk areas.

[Backinwellies]

Welsh gov page too .... it seems to have taken a long time after Eng and Scot announcements for Wales to make a decision. .... Just hoping when they do it is a bit less wordy and more informative than DEFRA Eng one!!

[in the hills]

Suspected case in Suffolk. 23,000 broilers to be culled.
Protection zone in place.

[in the hills]

Welsh Government have finally made an announcement, Backinwellies.

Less wordy maybe but totally vague. Surely this is intentional!
It will be interpreted in so many ways  depending upon who is reading it.

[pharnorth]

Yes I expect it is deliberately vague. Makes me wonder if we are now in a no fly volcanic ash situation. That is, everything is banned and no one is sure if it is useful,or how to un ban it.