SEPRA News
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Avian flu
In addition to egg prices and the fact that this is Friday 13th, the media and press have gone to town this week as regards Avian Influenza.
On the Amazon.co.uk site they are advertising 5 books on AI. One of them is titled “Everything you need to know about AI “ by a Marc Siegel. I thought great, I shall look up and see what date he gives for the entry of AI into the UK ! But no, he did not know that and his book at £7.19 has not yet been published!
A book “Bird Flu Planner" is on sale at £2.87, and Tamiflu 10x 75mg tablets at £64.90. 5 Facemasks, breath protection, are priced at £8.53.
Just about everyone is getting on the AI bandwagon.
The press are having a field day and some of the articles and ‘advice’ given is so untrue. The public are certainly concerned about what they read.
Our industry is being put under more scrutiny than ever before. Some parts of the Press are just about blaming us for bringing AI . In Turkey at the moment the people with a few hens are hiding their stock from the authorities, as it is their only means of income or food. I would guess that people out in the backwoods have had little explanation given to them. Biosecurity is practically non-existent.
Here in the UK at least our officials, health and agriculture, have given thought as to what are the best means for keeping the bug out of the UK.
No matter what officials do, there will always be someone who thinks he’s smart and will defy the authorities.
BBC Scotland TV are to major on Avian Flu on their programmes Grassroots and Landward which will be heard and shown over the week-end 21st / 22nd January.
They will be asking egg producers how AI will affect egg producers. What will be the bio security required, will it increase production costs etc. I believe they will be taking a non-scaremongering look at AI and its implications and costs.
I only gave it a sentence in last week’s report but the facts were published on the FSA web site, when they told of the importation of illegal chicken meat which had suspect health labels.
The suspect meat was a consignment of chicken breasts and drumsticks, believed to have originated from China.
In addition to the suspected illicit health marks previously identified in the food alert and updates, three further suspected illicit health marks have been identified, which are associated with the Euro Freeze (Ireland) Ltd investigation. No meats were supplied from Euro Freeze to Scotland.
But can you imagine the trouble this importation could have caused? I don’t believe we require chicken meat to be imported to the UK from the Far East when the disease risk is so high ?
From China of all places!
Despite no matter how much bio security we had in place round our poultry units in Scotland, but there would be a profit to be made from that consignment ?
The poultry industry over the past year or so has had many scares and I cannot see 2006 being an easy ride. Feed will rise and as also has been announced all packaging is to increase.
2005
On a lighter note it is said that the year 1981 was interesting...
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Prince Charles got married
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Liverpool crowned soccer Champions of Europe
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Australia lost the Ashes tournament.
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Pope Died
Equally the year 2005 was also interesting...
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Prince Charles got married
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Liverpool crowned soccer Champions of Europe
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Australia lost the Ashes tournament
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Pope Died
In the future, if Prince Charles decides to remarry we should warn the Pope!!
Lohmann Animal Health
Dr Rita Weber has been appointed a specialist for poultry diseases by Lohmann Animal Health. Based in the vaccine Technical Support Department at the company's headquarters in Cuxhaven, Germany, she will be involved in field trials and provide technical support for customers worldwide, apart from the Americas.
A graduate from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, her career has involved posts at the Clinic for Poultry at that university, where she was responsible for post-mortem examinations and bacteriology, and at the Institute of Food Science at the University of Giessen, Dr Weber has also carried out research into campylobacter.
Lohmann Animal Health, based in Cuxhaven, Germany, is one of the four largest producers of poultry vaccines in the world.
We have just to keep reassuring the public that buying and eating Scottish produced eggs is the only safe thing to do now and in the future.
Scottish eggs
Now is time to advertise that the identity of each and every SEPRA egg is stamped on the shell before it leaves the farm, SCO SCO SCO SCO SCO SCO SCO SCO SCO SCO SCO SCO.
Tell them. You have the means. I carry posters and leaflets. Now is the time to distribute them especially if French, Spanish or even English / Irish appear on the shop shelves.
ONLY THE SHELL CAN TELL.™
Visitors to Moira Henderson’s stall at farmers markets in Central Scotland all want her double yolker eggs. Big demand which cannot be satisfied. Her ISAbrowns are not able to keep up the demand for the double-yolkers.
The young lady, Amanda, in charge of the office and chief coffee maker may have the answer?
Amanda is expecting twins in August ! Her own double-yolkers! Congratulations to Amanda and hubby, David. (Moira, ex nurse, will be in her element !)
Dennis Surgenor
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