Exclusive: Animal advocates condemn culling method used in response to bird flu outbreak
The state’s agriculture minister, Ros Spence, confirmed Agriculture Victoria used Phos-Chek, a class-A foam, while responding to a highly contagious strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, which
“Approximately 30,000 ducks were humanely depopulated, and the method chosen was based on site-specific factors such as the layout of the facility. The foam is designed to minimise the stress and suffering of the birds during the process,” she said.Spence said animal welfare officers oversaw the process. But she did not answer Purcell’s supplementary question on whether animal welfare and environmental affects were considered before the foam was used.
“Either way, the inability to breathe, and the associated rise in CO2 in the blood stream, is a fundamentally stressful experience for any animal, as the physiological response is to fight hard to breathe before losing consciousness,” Latter said. “Instead of inhaling the deadly chemicals, they are actually dying in a slow agonising manner from heatstroke or organ failure by holding their breath while being buried alive under the foam.”
Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said efforts to contain bird flu were “nearing its conclusion” and that it had been the state’s “longest running biosecurity response”.
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