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1. US AI outbreak to affect Chinese poultry production
WorldPoultry.net
August 27, 2015
China banned imports of all poultry and poultry products from the US in January 2015 due to high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks. This ban however, will impact China's white broiler meat production since it relies on the US for grandparent breeding stock for its domestic production.
China has long favoured breeding stock from the United States as it tries to improve its own production efficiency, a recent USDA GAIN report states. A continued ban could result in lower 2017 production levels. Importers have looked to other sources for breeding stock, particularly to Europe. However, the potential resumption of US imports is a challenge to increasing breeding stock production in those countries.
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2. Video shows abuse of Tyson chickens used for McDonald's McNuggets [edited]
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post
August 27, 2015
Chickens used to make McDonald's McNuggets were beaten with a nail attached to a pole, tossed alive into buckets meant for the dead and suffered from leg deformities at a farm under contract with Tyson Foods, according to an animal rights group.
Tyson Foods quickly cut its ties with the Tennessee farm after a video showing the alleged abuse was released Thursday by Mercy for Animals, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles that employs workers to infiltrate farms and record animal mistreatment.
Tyson Foods issued a statement Thursday saying the company has launched its own investigation, but "based on what we currently know, we are terminating the farmer's contract to grow chickens for us." Tyson said an estimated 125,000 birds have been removed from the farm's barns.
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3. Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry continues to prepare for possibility of HPAI
Edmond Sun
August 27, 2015
It's a plan based on a possibility.
Daily, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) continues to solidify its response should a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) be reported and confirmed in Oklahoma.
HPAI is a serious poultry disease and is highly contagious among birds. There have been no reported cases of HPAI in Oklahoma.
"Also, there have been no documented cases of human illness from the particular strain that has been seen in the U.S.," Assistant State Veterinarian Michael Herrin said Tuesday. "There are multiple levels of protection that make it highly unlikely HPAI-infected poultry would ever enter the food chain and proper cooking kills the virus; which means our food supply is very safe."
However, since late 2014, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed several cases of HPAI in the migratory bird paths known as the Pacific, Central and Mississippi flyways. The disease has been found in wild birds, as well as in a few backyard and commercial poultry flocks.
"We are starting to see the migration of the waterfowl south into Oklahoma," Herrin said.
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4. West Nile diagnosed in county man, horse [NM]
by Deborah Fox
News-Bulletin.com
August 26, 2015
A horse in Valencia County near Laguna Pueblo was confirmed with West Nile virus.
This is the first horse in the state to have a confirmed case of the virus, said Los Lunas Animal Clinic veterinarian Donny MacDougall DVM and New Mexico Department of Health veterinarian, Paul Ettestadt.
The horse is recovering, but three people - a 76-year-old man from Valencia County, and two women from Do�a Ana County, ages 75 and 60 - have all been hospitalized with the more serious form of the illness, neuroinvasive disease, according to a New Mexico Department of Health press release.
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5. Zoonotic threat is "like never before" says BVA speaker
By PW Reporters
Pig-World.co.uk
August 27, 2015
Zoonotic infections threaten us like never before, world-leading expert Professor Tom Solomon will tell next month's British Veterinary Association (BVA) members' day gathering in Edinburgh.
Director of the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool, Prof. Solomon will say that a "One Health, multidisciplinary approach", linking human, animal and environmental health, is needed to tackle the problem.
The professor will also argue that by working together, vets and medics can play a vital role in preventing infections passing from animals to humans through surveillance, disease recognition and improved diagnostics.
BVA President, John Blackwell, another scheduled keynote speaker at the Edinburgh event, added: "The veterinary contribution to the One Health agenda has never been so important, by linking animal and human health and feeding veterinary surveillance, captured at a local level, into the global efforts to combat zoonotic disease."
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6. To commemorate Hurricane Katrina, animal rescuers hone their skills
Source: International Fund for Animal Welfare
PRNewswire
August 27, 2015
GONZALES, La. -- Precisely ten years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, disaster response experts from around the country gathered in Gonzales, LA for an intensive animal rescue boot-camp. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) joined member agencies of the National Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition (NARSC) to conduct the trainings.
"We see it in the U.S. and increasingly all over the world, the importance of keeping pets and farm animals safe during disasters has never been stronger," said Shannon Walajtys, IFAW Disaster Response Manager.
"This week is about commemorating the brave efforts to save animals during Katrina and reinforce the rescue skills needed when we're called to help."
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many residents refused to leave their homes and seek safe shelter. An estimated 44% of those who refused to evacuate did so because they could not bring their pets with them. More than 200 animal groups worked together on pet rescues and IFAW assisted in the rescue, care and transport of approximately 7,000 animals including cats and dogs, farm animals, reptiles, and birds.
The following year, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, which calls for agencies seeking FEMA relief to include animals in emergency plans, went into effect.
Boot-camp participants are recreating hands-on water rescue scenarios using animal mannequins, boats and specialized equipment. They are also refreshing their skills on pet first aid, animal handling, sheltering, and fire rescue.
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