The Seattle Pi newspaper published in a recent scare tactics article by Tom Paulson:
“Hundreds of undocumented chickens live in Seattle, a clucking time bomb planted right in the urban core that poses just as great a risk for deadly bird flu as any rural chicken should the severe Asian strain of avian influenza ever finds its way to this region.”
-SeattlePi
This sort of irresponsible propaganda will terrify urban dwellers and divide them against their country cousins as well as against those pour souls who try to maintain a semblance of agrarian sanity in the urban environment. They go on to push Premises Registration and NAIS with:
“It’s really important that we identify sick birds as soon as possible,” said Dr. Mark Kinsel, avian health program officer for the state Agriculture Department. “You really are our eyes and ears on this.”
Shame on the Washington State Department and Seattle Pi newspaper editors and publisher for resorting to these types of misinformation and distortions of reality.
I highly encourage friends of NoNAIS to contact/email Angelina Shell at tilth@seattletilth.org to encourage her in her fight against animal registration in Seattle. She will probably need it now more than ever after the above article was recently published. Also the Seattle Pi newspaper website is seattlepi.com. A few letters to their editor might not be a bad idea either. Enjoy your weekend everyone!
pielady
Comment sue sellars — October 6, 2006 @ 7:07 am
Undocumented chickens? Now I’ve heard it all. This is ridiculous. We’ve got to ‘talk talk talk and write write write’ so people understand what is really happening here.
Comment Bonnie — October 6, 2006 @ 7:08 am
Back in the “old” days when newspapers cared about publishing truth and not just reaping in money the Seattle Post Intelligencer was a good newspaper. Of course that was way back almost before my time!
Comment Sallie — October 6, 2006 @ 7:58 am
Great! now they are trying to get the nonfarmers for nais and agianst farmers! What is this country coming to !
Comment Sandy — October 6, 2006 @ 8:04 am
ROFL!!!
Where is Phil?
:)
Comment Breederville — October 6, 2006 @ 8:19 am
May I copy and paste this article on my website deadredcrab.com, with link back of course… which I already have linked in a few places? This sort of thing must be reported. It’s all about control and keeping us from “growing” our own. That’s all! The food fascists are rising from the un-composted heap as we attempt to go back to the land…
deb
[Deb, Yes, feel free to use any materials of mine from http://NoNAIS.org to fight to protect our traditional rights to farm and to fight against the USDA’s proposed National Identification System. -WJ]
Comment deb — October 6, 2006 @ 8:42 am
I just sent Tom an email. But in case the Spam Filters at the PI catch it, here is the text:
Tom,
Thank you for trying to get the word out about Bird Flu and possible sources within Seattle. However, I fear your article may be more about fanning flames of paranoia than actual information.
Why target backyard chicken owners? Cats can catch AI from eating infected pigeons and other wild-brids. People can carry the virus in and pass it to their pet parakeet. By vilifying chicken owners you will only cause a witch-hunt where none is needed. Those Seattle chickens pose no more of a threat than do any of the other birds present in the city–Avain Influenze is not a chicken specific disease. If you really wanted to write a beneficial piece about Seattle chickens and AI you might have done some research into how in London, England the city council got the word out about how city dwellers could protect their urban flocks from AI.
As someone who relies on the protection of the 1st Amendment of the Constitution, I am sure you will understand me when I say that chicken (or any other animal) owners–in the city or on a farm in Auburn, Walla Walla or Bellingham–need to be protected by the 4th and 5th Amendments. The registering of poultry (and all other animals) is already something our Government is trying to accomplish–Seattle doesn’t need to waste time and resources opening that can of worms. It seems innocent enough–first you register because it’s the “right thing to do”. Then you have to start paying fines and fees. Then comes the knock on the door, or an early morning farm raid– http://nonais.org/index.php/2006/09/29/henshaw-incident/ –and your animals are taken or killed without explanation, without proper testing and you are sent a bill for your losses. That isn’t America. That is Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, or anywhere else but here.
I farm north of Seattle. I keep a mixed range of livestock–but lots of chickens. I am not worried by AI in the least. First of all because I know a bit about it. Secondly, if you have studied it you will see the public panic campaigns over it are just that. And thirdly, healthy chickens, well looked after and properly taken care of are less likely to catch the disease–or as the case may be PRODUCE it–than the factory chicken farms which happen to surround Seattle. Bio-security is definitely something every pet-owner and farmer in this country should be aware of and practicing. But also every WSDA and USDA inspector, every vet, farm visitor, Butcher and hunter. We practice strict controls on our farm where the livestock are regarded. I was horrified last spring to see a Butcher come to several farms with a trailer caked with muck and blood from previous visits–that is the sort of thing which can spread disease and cause a tremendous outbreak.
If you want to do a piece on AI, start looking into where it originates–large scale poultry operations which, despite their locked-down status and bio-security, have managed to produce this disease. Do a piece on how small farmers and city chicken fanciers can help prevent it and keep their animals safe. About what a great thing it is to have this diversity in Seattle and what a crime–as in Totalitarian State–it would be to loose this link to reality.
And if you really want to freak yourself out about the “can of worms” I mentioned earlier you will visit http://nonais.org and start investigating what the Governments Animal ID plan really means for EVERY American. NAIS–National Animal ID has cost taxpayers millions over the last 4 years and yet no one has heard about it. Isn’t that strange? The plan to systematically tag and track all chattel on farms, urban homes and cities has huge implications, the least of which is an increase in the cost of our food. And it’s not just animals the USDA–and the Corporations who are paying them, the NIAA–wants to track. How about vegetables, CSA’s, Hay. . .you name it the Goons in the funny white suits want to tag, track, analyze and tax everything and everyone. Look it up if you don’t believe me. They say it is for disease prevention–but knowing where something is will only help them kill it–refer to the above link on the Henshaw Incident or visit here: http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2006/10/05/COVER-boarSlaughter-F.doc.aspx
Then they say it is for increase economic export opportunities–but most American who raise a few chickens or a beef steer in their back yard aren’t exporting their products. Then they say it if for National Security and to help stop terrorism. But creating a central database of every American’s personal information in relation to animals helps not only the terrorist, but the true enemy–the large scale Ag Corporations–to know where the commodities are so they can attack them or latch on to them in some other way. No, if the Government really wanted to protect our food supply they would be seeking ways of diversifying it and de-centralizing it so that it wasn’t a terrorist target. They would be obfuscating data not compiling it. The NAIS isn’t about these things. It is about corporate greed and control over the American Food System. Period.
Please take some time. Do some research. Prove me wrong about all this stuff. I would love it if it were only a dystopian nightmare and not a reality. And then write some common sense articles which will inspire the public not incite them.
Thanks again for writing your article and bring so important an issue out into the light.
Sincerely,
Podchef
Comment Podchef — October 6, 2006 @ 8:52 am
Has anyone responded from the ag community on this one? Need to send tons of letters to the editor. pointing out of course the non sence this is,,,,and how safe small ag really is. I did not see though if it was a big agri chicken program. That is an issue. Since a large operation could promote illness. No matter how much liquid antibiotics the birds get daily.
thanks for the this blog or website. We need it.
Comment jo ann — October 6, 2006 @ 9:15 am
I happened to see a short clip on nightline about the recent e-coli outbreak, and it caught my attention. I suspected somehow NAIS may come into the conversation, and I was right. They used the word tracing, and compared us to England, and how they could trace the meat back to the source to stop mad cow disease. They keep dropping little hints here and there, and they used a story of a little boy who died at the age of seven or so from e-coli to further push their propoganda. It was very sad and one sided.
Comment Shelley — October 6, 2006 @ 9:17 am
Walter I sent a note to this paper also asking for them to look more cloely at this issue.
I hope he will take a look at all this and write a balanced response.
Sir,
I read your article about backyard flocks with interest.
I feel I must comment. As a small homesteader/ farmer I have raised a flock of birds for eggs and meat for 30 years and grew up on a farm before that,so I am quite familiar with livestock as it is my life. Do you realize that the animal id effort was started by the National Institute for Animal Agriculture in Bowling green Ky. and that they are but a trade group for such people as Monsanto, Cargill, Digital Angel and many other tech and food conglomerates? The animal id folks have been planning this for nearly 20 years,it has nothing to do with disease, it has everthing to do with money and control. Small backyard flocks pose no threat to our health, but the large industrial operation do! ( check out www.grain.org ) they are an international sustainable agriculture group and have done an indepth study of this issue(avian flu) the truth is nearly all disease outbreaks have happened on factory farm operations not small flocks. This is true acrossed the board in all branches of husbandry if you research you will discover that we did not have disease isues in America that amounted to anything until the USDA changed its policys and began to encourage industrial ag over small farms.The USDA wants to know where every animal in America is so that they can kill them off if/when they want to using disease as an excuse.USDA does not believe in testing and treating they prefer to destroy flocks and herds with out testing.This has been their M.O. for most of their history.Please check out the following, www.libertyark.org and www.nonais.org for more insight into this issue. Please consider doing an opposing viewpoint story, look at this from the point of view of a small farmer who lives off his farm, while some people have made farming into a business it does not make farming business, nor does it give those who have made it into business a better claim to agriculture than those who are living it ,farming is our “safety net” a place that needs to be respected and not sold out to the highest bidder or given over to govt lackeys who judge everything on its dollar value.
Comment LEE — October 6, 2006 @ 9:58 am
Good catch, Walter! I was going to send you this today—was busy with it yesterday.
Here’s the part you couldn’t have known; the same day that that news article came out, a local television news anchor did maybe a 20 second blurb with a very wink-wink-nudge-nudge sort of presentation to it wherein he stated that with about 500 undocumented chickens in Seattle backyards, Washington is now requiring that they be registered because they are as at risk of avian flue as their rural counterparts.
Well, I called the station (loaded for bear) and was neatly brushed off after being referred to Tom Paulson’s article as their source. I dug up the article, and called Mr. Paulson….who immediately said that registration is not required. I bent his ear for about twenty minutes—-he had NO IDEA that NAIS “is so controversial” and was willing to listen, and said that he is not done reporting on this.
Don’t go after Mr. Paulson, folks; start with digging at the people who were speaking at that seminar—who very carefully did not use the term NAIS….which is why it wasn’t in Mr. Paulson’s article.
If you are in the Seattle area and keep a few animals, DO contact Mr. Paulson and let him know why NAIS is a bad idea. Remember that he’s a city newspaper reporter so try to keep it to things he can use for his city readers….let’s help him get some good info out there!
Oh, and—if anybody thinks they can get Channel 7 KIRO to do some sort of informed retraction, please start beating that drum. I know that Wayne Havrelly probably just read something that someone handed him, but still…..I’m having trouble believing anything I hear him say now.
Comment E'ireen & Phil — October 6, 2006 @ 10:08 am
Seattle Tilth has been written to. Now it’s time to go hug some hens and kiss some chicks. I’ve got an idea or two with what to do with the surplus roosters. . . .
Comment Podchef — October 6, 2006 @ 10:23 am
Good catch, Walter! I was going to send you this today—was busy with it yesterday.
Here’s the part you couldn’t have known; the same day that that news article came out, a local television news anchor did maybe a 20 second blurb with a very wink-wink-nudge-nudge sort of presentation to it wherein he stated that with about 500 undocumented chickens in Seattle backyards, Washington is now requiring that they be registered because they are as at risk of avian flue as their rural counterparts.
Well, I called the station (loaded for bear) and was neatly brushed off after being referred to Tom Paulson’s article as their source. I dug up the article, and called Mr. Paulson….who immediately said that registration is not required. I bent his ear for about twenty minutes—-he had NO IDEA that NAIS “is so controversial” and was willing to listen, and said that he is not done reporting on this.
Don’t go after Mr. Paulson, folks; start with digging at the people who were speaking at that seminar—who very carefully did not use the term NAIS….which is why it wasn’t in Mr. Paulson’s article.
If you are in the Seattle area and keep a few animals, DO contact Mr. Paulson and let him know why NAIS is a bad idea. Remember that he’s a city newspaper reporter so try to keep it to things he can use for his city readers….let’s help him get some good info out there!
Oh, and—if anybody thinks they can get Channel 7 KIRO to do some sort of informed retraction, please start beating that drum. I know that Wayne Havrelly probably just read something that someone handed him, but still…..I’m having trouble believing anything I hear him say now.
Hey—I’ve tried to post this and it is not showing up on the page upon reload—??? Sorry if it comes through twice.
Comment E'ireen & Phil — October 6, 2006 @ 10:37 am
FYI- Y’all,
This article was in reponse to a large conference in Tacoma on the Avian Flu last week. I was invited to attended but last week was a bit busy. Transcripts may be available.
Comment Celeste — October 6, 2006 @ 11:21 am
If you think you heard it all along comes this. A company in Texas called TRANSCORE wants a RFID tag on every vehicle in tx. 666 for your car
Comment Monte Waldron — October 6, 2006 @ 12:47 pm
I’ve just had a nice email from Tom Paulson thanking me for not ripping into him like so many others and for helping explain the situation to him. I took the time to reply asking he help us spread the No NAIS word and to do some more research on the issues and perhaps write an article in the future. I also offered to help him in any way I can.
#13 is right–Paulson is just a guy who innocently stumbled into an angry bees nest. Hopefully we haven’t made him allergic and he will be an ally in helping us protect our hives.
Comment Podchef — October 6, 2006 @ 3:33 pm
This sort of disinformation is USDA propaganda. Googled the following after the ‘terror threat’ to New England.
Look at the number of articles listed that have to do with disease and privately owned livestock. They spin and spin and spin their ugly webs.
govarticlesarchive
Comment donna — October 6, 2006 @ 3:40 pm
Should have also noted that here in North Dakota we awoke yesterday October 5, to a radio announcement from the State Vet asking that farmers immediately report any sick birds in their flocks.
Coordinated fear mongering?
Comment donna — October 6, 2006 @ 3:44 pm
I sent this e-mail to Mr. Paulson. His response follows.
*************************
This is the most irresponsible piece of reporting I’ve seen lately. Why don’t you checkout the whole issue here instead of just jotting down a fear-mongering headline? Is selling another paper worth your reputation as a so-called “reporter”? Did you ever consider the Ag dept. has other axes to grind? The best biosecurity is to NOT let government officials trample all over your land after they’ve been to hundreds of other farms. Did you think to ask why people don’t want to register their birds? I’ll point you in the right direction on this one: look up the Henshaw incident in Virginia. Another great source of information on why people won’t register can be found at NoNAIS.org
************************
This is his response
************************
Dear V,
Thanks for contacting me. I was not aware of the controversy surrounding this issue. I’m not an ag writer. I cover this as a public health issue. But I will certainly look more closely into NAIS and the concerns about it in the future.
Best
Tom
Comment V is for Victory — October 6, 2006 @ 3:44 pm
Unrelated but related, I heard the e-coli outbreak in spinach is probably due to the unsanitary machine blades used to harvest (they can get e-coli or other microbes into the stem tissues, where you can’t wash them away). The old school method of hand-picking with regularly sterilized knives was deemed too expensive.
Comment berecca — October 6, 2006 @ 4:15 pm
Could it be that cats are the culprit of “bird” flu and not the birds?
Cats can carry bird flu, study says
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Recent studies have revealed that cats can contract the avian influenza virus and that there is no evidence that migratory birds are responsible for the spread of the disease.
A study conducted by the Indonesian Environment Information Center (PILI) in Yogyakarta found that stray cats had caught the H5N1 virus through contact with infected poultry at traditional markets.
“We are positive that cats can have the virus, although it is yet to be proven that they can transmit the virus to other animals or humans,” PILI director Iwan Setiawan said Thursday after a discussion on the role of migratory birds in the spreading the virus.
The discussion, which was held by National Geographic Indonesia, concluded that migratory birds were not to blame for the movement of bird flu.
A vet from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, I Wayan Teguh Wibawa, said separate studies had shown there was no proof anywhere in the world that migratory birds carried the virus.
Studies of migratory birds in Malaysia, China and Australia that have been carried out over the past six years have shown no migrant birds in the three regions had the H5N1 virus, he said.
Wayan, who is also a member of the National Commission for Bird Flu, said that the poultry trade was the most likely cause of the spread of the virus to 29 of Indonesia’s 33 provinces. So far 69 people have been infected with the virus and 52 have died.
“It is very important to vaccinate poultry and keep home environments free of poultry feces,” he said.
A recent serology test conducted on 20 chickens around the houses of victims in Bandung showed that the virus could also be transmitted by healthy chickens.
PILI began last year the country’s first study of the possible role of migratory birds in the spread of bird flu. The study, which is taking place in Yogyakarta and Indramayu in West Java, is still in progress. The group plans to extend the study to several other coastal regions in Java, where about 2 million birds from northern Indonesia usually come for mating season.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20061007.H06&irec=5
Comment Goatster — October 7, 2006 @ 4:59 am
I might be wrong here, but I think that vaccinating chickens isn’t going to stop the bird flu from being transmitted.
Sure the chickens who’ve been inocculated will be fine, but they are still carriers of the virus.
Now you really will have clucking and crapping time-bombs. You’ll never know which chickens or birds are sick, and since the birds are only the carriers they can still infect cats if the felines are eating them, or anyone else through their feces. Poultry is but one avenue, yet they continue to focus on it.
I don’t know about you, but I generally keep my “home environments free of poultry feces”. But there is a neverending parade of kittens wandering around. . . .
[The vaccine makes the birds immune to the disease and makes them not be carriers. The problem is they test positive because the tests don’t test for the presence of the disease, the viruse, but rather test for the presence of the anti-bodies in the blood. Same issue with other species and other diseases. Better tests are needed. A better test was developed for Foot & Mouth Disease. Had it been used in England they could avoided the killing of six million healthy animals, if they had wanted. -WJ]
Comment Podchef — October 7, 2006 @ 9:16 am
For control of HPAI, OIE, FAO and WHO all recomend vaccination. The bird population they recomend paying extra special attention to in regards to disease surveillance is the domestic fowl population - that is domestic ducks and geese, according to the report - A Global Strategy for the Progressive Control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) from the FAO, OIE, and in collabortarion with WHO.
I don’t have the link to the report handy, but I think I found it on the OIE website. I believe that in the report, it also states that the primary route for movement of HPAI H5N1 was through the trade routes every where except in Turkey and the Russian Federation.
[Here’s a link to the report. -WJ]
One of the things that really worries me about AI is that in the USA, depopultion, as opposed to vaccintion, especially prophylactic vaccination, is the preferred method of disease control/containment, as illustrated by the 2004 depopulation of poultry in Gonzales County, Texas. Birds at a live bird market were thought to have tested positive for H5N2. Many birds in the area were killed and disposed of. It was later found that the test was probably a false positive for that particular strain and that what the birds actually had was a low path AI.
Oops, so sorry. But your birds are still dead…..
[Exactly… -WJ]
url to the info on that -
ftp://ftp.oie.int/SAM/2004/USA_A.pdf
It’s on page 255 - actually this is an excerpt from a much larger document and in the pdf that the link takes you to it’s on page 2 of 5, but it’s #255 in the entire document.
Comment Joanne Rigutto — October 7, 2006 @ 6:44 pm
As for animals being vaccinated and still being able to carry the virus, and more importantly be able to still shed virus, for some viruses that is the case, and for some it’s not. I forget which AI is. I know one of the concerns with FMD vaccination is that the existing vaccine stops clinical symptoms, but doesn’t stop an animal from shedding virus. You also can’t tell a vaccinated animal from one who has been exposed to the virus but survived. They’ll both titer the same. The Plumb Island Facility is working on a set of tagged vaccines for FMD that can be administered to an animal that has been exposed, and not only will give that animal immunity, but will stop the animal from shedding virus. Being a tagged vaccine, testing can determine whether the animal titers due to vaccination or to environmental exposure to the actual virus. Unfortunately, the vaccine is still in development, but is looking very promising, and will only be used as an emergency measure in the event of an outbreak.
In the case of a virus like rabies, the vaccine stops the animal from coming down with the sickness, and prevents them from carrying and shedding the virus. Of course rabies is a fairly stable virus, where as AI is changing constantly.
Comment Joanne Rigutto — October 7, 2006 @ 7:05 pm
If you want a preview of what might happen with AI Google Exotic Newcastle Disease in California beginning February 2003. My cousin said they went door to door and inspected every house killing every bird in Southern California. She is a German war bride and it made her shudder the invasive tactics which were used, so reminding her of Germany during WWII.
Comment Celeste — October 8, 2006 @ 10:14 am
Referring to Celeste,No25,I was Manager/ceo of a small County Fair ..Mendocino County,California in 2003.Well aware and experienced the house to house ‘’lookie see for poultry'’.We were directed by Fairs and exhibitions through the Calif.Dept.Of Agriculture.. for.ALL FAIRS IN CALIFornia to Cancel the poultry shows..Can you imagine how happy our 4-h kids were at this bright idea?They did have a show with toy chickens,ducks,turkeys..showmanship,,show and tell to educate the public about Newcastle disease..Still did not solve the problem locally..There are a multitude of illegal chickens(fighting cocks)entering California daily..Tighten up the borders folks…I have sent e-mails about NAIS to all of my govt.reps..of course,no answer..Our county farm bureau has recommented the program be voluntary,NOT mandatory..David
Comment david gowan — October 9, 2006 @ 7:28 am