By Neil Trent
Humane slaughter—it sounds like the ultimate oxymoron, or worse, some kind of sick joke. It is neither.
In recent weeks the world has witnessed countries across Asia scramble to contain a deadly strain of bird flu virus. The World Health Organization calls the outbreak of H5N1 virus "historically unprecedented" for its rapid spread and for its simultaneous occurrence in several countries. Thus far, the disease has killed 22 people in Vietnam and Thailand, and infected poultry in many other nations. What's more, different strains of avian flu have recently been detected in both the United States and Canada, prompting immediate imports bans of the two countries' poultry products.
Clearly, the stakes for getting avian flu under control couldn't be higher, whether in Asia or right in our backyard in North America.
Methods used to kill farm birds in affected areas have reeked of panic, particularly in southeast Asia. Workers without proper protective gear have been shown stuffing chicken after frantic chicken into plastic bags and burying them alive, or beating the birds to death with sticks, or simply dumping them into rivers. Some 80 million chickens, ducks and other fowl have reportedly been destroyed in 10 countries.
The slapdash style of the slaughters has been roundly criticized. "We find this way of killing live animals is in clear violation of…the animal protection law and the law to prevent livestock epidemics," a South Korean professor told The Korea Herald. The Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals received numerous complaints from a public shocked by the practice of burying live chickens. "We'll wait until things cool down to talk to the government about better procedures in the future," veterinarian Chisanu Tiyacharoensri told Reuters.
As the doctor suggests, now is not the time to point fingers, but rather to look ahead. We at HSI would like to call on experts from the public health and agriculture sectors of all countries to develop national and regional disaster preparedness plans—not just for avian influenza, but also for foot and mouth, "mad cow," and other livestock-borne diseases that are increasingly causing global ripples.
In the case of the current crisis in Asia, a regional "best practice" contingency plan would have identified the most appropriate, humane methods to deal with the large-scale slaughter of poultry. The plan may not have spared any birds, but it would have prevented a lot of animal suffering. And in the topsy-turvy world of animal agriculture and disease, that may be as close as we can get to resolving a public health dilemma with a "clear conscience."
The idea that an expeditious slaughter cannot afford the "luxury" of minimizing animal suffering is simply wrong. A humane slaughter is a healthy slaughter; cutting corners and sending unprotected workers into the feathery fray is a formula for a public health catastrophe.
According to the WHO, the great danger posed by an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza is that the virus will swap enough genetic material with a human flu virus and become transmissible from person to person. (So far, it has been transmitted only from birds to humans.) Such a cross-pollination of genetic material could also create a new, virulent strain against which there is no immunity.
Experts agree that the critical first step in halting the spread of disease is the rapid destruction of potentially infected poultry. This is not a solution that pleases many animal protectionists, including those of us at HSI. But it is the hard, cold reality. The culling of Hong Kong's entire chicken population in 1997, for example, took place within three days, helping to avoid a pandemic in humans.
But when the slaughter is not undertaken with extreme care, the risk of human exposure to the virus increases, raising the specter of the ultimate public nightmare—the breeding and unleashing of a pandemic, like the one that killed more than 40 million people worldwide between 1918 and 1919. That human influenza epidemic was believed to originate with birds, although scientists have recently started to doubt that theory.
There is no magic preparedness formula that will apply to all countries at all times. At a minimum, though, workers must have protective suits and masks to allow for orderly quarantines. Animals must also be humanely transported to facilities for gassing or for the dislocation of necks, and officials must plan for the safe disposal of carcasses.
Of course, no plan will amount to anything if government officials aren't forthcoming about looming threats. The United Kingdom identified bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or "mad cow disease"), long before it informed the public of the risks. In the current Asian crisis, critics have charged officials in Thailand and elsewhere with keeping information under wraps until the problem was out of hand. The bitter irony is that efforts to stem financial losses by hiding gathering threats almost always have the exact opposite effect.
In Vietnam, where 15 of the 22 human deaths have occurred, officials estimate the short-term financial losses at $45 million U.S. Some foresee losses of up to $700 million if killing all 233 million chickens, ducks, quails and other farm birds becomes necessary.
The WHO says that it could take years to bring the virus fully under control. Meanwhile, a recent outbreak of a different sort of highly pathogenic bird flu has raised concerns in the United States and Canada. These events speak to the critical need to be proactive and prepared. Panic only begets more panic, creating suffering for animals and unnecessary risks for people. Humane slaughter is not "for the birds"—it's for all of us.
