5 February 2007 - Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas has attacked DEFRA minister Ben Bradshaw’s ‘incredible ignorance’ over the causes of bird ‘flu after it emerged he ignored calls to study the link between the virus and factory farming in a report she sent to his office last July.

Dr Lucas said “Last year I co-authored a report examining the clear links between intensive poultry farming methods and bird ‘flu, calling on the Government to investigate urgently these links and the possibility of halting factory farming to prevent the spread of the virus. It is clear that this warning was ignored: Ben Bradshaw today insisted there was no evidence for such a link, revealing an incredible level of ignorance.

“This must be remedied immediately: the government must urgently set up an inquiry into the links between unsustainable factory farming and the deadly virus based on a wealth of evidence from earlier outbreaks around the world.”

Last year Dr Lucas published Avian ‘Flu – Time to Shut the ‘flu factories? - a report examining the link between factory farming, international trade and the spread of the disease.

It concluded that the Government must consider ending those factory farming methods likely to hasten the development and spread of bird ‘flu, such as keeping thousands of birds in cramped warm conditions perfect for virus mutation and infection. As a precautionary measure the EU should immediately halt all imports and exports of live poultry and hatching eggs.

And though Dr Lucas sent her report direct to DEFRA ministers, today junior agriculture minister Ben Bradshaw denied any possible link between the disease and factory farming.

Dr Lucas, who was Vice-President of the EU’s Committee of Inquiry into the UK ’s 2001 outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease, said the Government has been thrown into a panic over the outbreak – and should do its homework and examine the link between factory farming and the virus before it strikes again.

“Junior DEFRA minister Ben Bradshaw today claimed ‘It’s not true to suggest that the disease is more likely to happen in intensive rearing’ – this reveals the ignorance at the heart of a panicked Government that just doesn’t know what to do next,” she said.

“Mr Bradshaw really must do his homework and make sure he fully understands the likely causes of the outbreak before repeating the terrible mishandling of foot and mouth by slaughtering millions of healthy animals and endangering the livelihoods of poultry farmers up and down the country.”

“We have long known that factory farming and live animal imports and exports are deeply cruel practices resulting in million of birds becoming sick or dying prematurely: now it seems that they could have caused the first mass outbreak of bird ‘flu on British soil.”

 
ENDS

Download Avian ‘Flu - Time to Shut the Intensive Poultry ‘Flu Factories’?