U.K. officials adopting more steps to stop the spread of avian influenza

Jan 10, 2017

Residents asked not to bring their poultry outside until end of February

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

After new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), officials throughout the United Kingdom are taking additional measures to keep the disease from spreading.

Outbreaks in England, Wales and Scotland prompted the chief veterinary officer to tell chicken, turkey and duck producers to keep their birds inside until Feb. 28. A ban on poultry shows also remains in place.

“The Prevention Zone means anyone who keeps poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese, even as pets, must take action to stop them coming into contact with wild birds to protect them from avian flu,” chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens said, according to Cornwall Live.

Gibbens said birds should be put into a suitable building or temporary enclosures. Water and food should also be kept inside to ensure infected wild birds don’t contaminate it.

In South America, Chile is also dealing with an outbreak of avian influenza.

Chile’s Agriculture and Livestock Service confirmed on Friday that a strain of bird flu was discovered at a turkey production plant in the Valparaiso region, according to a Reuters report.

Lab tests show the strain is of low pathogenicity and poses little threat to animal health.

Reuters report nearly 350,000 birds will be destroyed in Chile and quarantines have been put in place.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.