&In Europe and North America pets -- what veterinarians call companion animals -- are usually dogs or cats. In other countries (e.g., Korea) dogs are raised for food like livestock. Birds are a sort of cross over creature. Birds as companions are fairly common in Europe and America but they are most often exotic. But even people who raise birds for food frequently develop an attachment to them, and having a chicken or turkey as a pet is far from rare. But chickens get bird flu. It turns out that and dogs can also become infected, although at the moment they are not known to be significant reservoirs the way poultry is. However a lone chicken kept as a companion animal is unlikely to be a source of bird flu, and the virus usually makes itself known by making the bird sick. That doesn't prevent fear from creating a problem for people who have a poultry bird as a companion animal, however:
A disabled woman has said she fears possible eviction from her Greater Manchester home because of her pet chicken Squeak.Wheelchair-bound Janet Slater, 54, said neighbours feared Bird Flu and complained of the clucking from the Rhode Island Red.
Now her landlords, housing association Irwell Valley, say she has fallen foul of her tenancy agreement and ordered Ms Slater to get rid of the bird.
An inspector visited her bungalow in Eccles and told her Squeak was breaking the rules. Squeak, bought for GBP40, had lived with Ms Slater and her daughter, Amelia, 20, for three years at their previous home in Salford, with no complaints. But the five-year-old bird had ruffled feathers in the neighbourhood after moving to their new home.
Ms Slater, a retired engineer, who suffers from osteoarthiritis, said: "Apparently someone telephoned them up and said we have a chicken in the area. Panic! Bird Flu! (24dash.com)
Ms. Slater's chicken was being automatically classified as "livestock" rather than "pet." The bird is said to be very quiet and there were no reports it had bothered anyone by its behavior. But now she reports getting a letter telling her to ditch the bird in a month.
This is all quite predictable. We have discussed it before here (and here, here, here, here). It reminds us that there are many things to consider in pandemic planning and companion animals (aka the beloved family pet) is one of them. It's not just birds. We know dogs and cats can become infected with this virus and one or two news stories to that effect in a pandemic can easily instigate responses that could pile tragedy upon tragedy. It's not just a matter of saying that in a pandemic better to be safe than sorry and it's just a dog or a cat, not a person. Dogs and cats (and yes, birds) that are family pets are also family members and their lives may be defended as fiercely as a human member of the family. Indeed we saw in hurricane Katrina people stayed in their endangered houses rather than evacuate without their pets.
The moral of this sad story is that the small animal veterinary and animal rescue communities need to take part in pandemic planning, both with their own plan and as part of the larger pandemic planning community.
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Well of course there is no reason why the presence of animals that might be capable of becoming infected with influenza contributes significantly to the risk for associated humans. They'd mostly likely catch the virus from the people, not the other way around. I had to explain this to someone who was worried about maintaining her backyard chicken coop. If the bird flu comes to her town, it's going to come via people, not her chickens. She might end up losing the chickens, but there's not much anybody can do about that.
cervantes: The point of the post is that if there is widespread fear of pets then it is easy to envision a great deal of social mayhem around trying to "cull" them, either by authorities or vigilantes. So it would be wise to think about how to handle this ahead of time.
Dear Revere,
Would you consider researching the arrest of Houssein A. Zorkot, a third-year medical student at Wayne State University, and graduate of the University of Michigan, Microbiology Department? He has authored two papers, "Extremophiles: What are They?" and "Natures Ultimate Survivors: The Evolutionary and Morphological Significance of Extremophiles."
Mr. Zorkot was arrested Saturday, after being reported by bystanders, in a park wearing black clothing, mask and face painted, and carrying an AK-47.
I know I'm going out on a limb here, but could extremophiles be developed as biological weapons, since some of them, from my preliminary research, exhibit resistance to boiling, freezing, salting and irradiation, (some the standard methods we use to process and preserve food)?
Love,
Library Lady
IMO, it's much more likely that, given widespread fear of pets transmitting H5N1, owners will simply turn out their companion animals en masse believing this to be more humane than having them euthanized or handing them over to cullers. And while most domesticated animals don't have the survival skills necessary to live on their own, many will survive to create more problems down the line. Even now in my (new) rural area we occasionally have roving packs of half-wild dogs attacking and eating pets. And that's just from a few irresponsible pet owners taking the cheap and cowardly way out....
LL: Most extremophiles I know about live in deep sea vents and similar environments and would not make good bioweapons. I don't know of any that cause disease, either. I don't think we are competent hosts for them. But there are lots of other organisms that resist such environments, including many sporeformers such as C. botulinum. So this wouldn't be particularly new.
cougar: I think you are correct about what people would do, which is just one more reason to think ahead about it.
IMO there are more than a few irresponsible pet owners roaming this planet. Many of them, well never mind, they just really piss me off.
We have put off for years getting another dog because:
1. It's a lifetime commitment, period.
2. The threat of the bird flu and not being able to provide adequately for the "companion".
3. The sheer attachment factor as so eloquently demonstrated by this story.
So you are suggesting reveres that plans be devised now in order to deal with the eventual hysteria surrounding this dilemma?
Who will do this? Who should do this?
And plans to care for abandoned pets as well as pets of people who have translated during the pandemic?
The Dalai Lama once said (and these may not be the exact words):
Mankind can/will be judged by the way they treat their animals.
Lea: I'm suggesting practicing small animal vets and animal rescue organizations (like the various humane societies and SPCAs) get involved in pandemic planning of their own and of the community, to anticipate what might happen and the best way to respond.
I have 4 cats and two dogs and have made provisions for them to be outside and completely sheltered in kennels that not only have covers over them to keep bird poop out, but chain link fence on the outside and and chicken wire and screen wire up 6 feet. Expensive to say the least. I have a five mo. supply of dog and cat food (great stuff if you are hungry that Gravy Train is), but I fear what might happen if people do put their animals out to be human.
In the opinion of my vet the turnout might be a source of additional waves as the animals feed to survive on just about anything. He did agree that if things really got hairy and it became necessary that he would give me what I needed to euthanize them. He is of two minds as I am on this. One is that these are family members, each a foundling or fostering turned permanent. Yoda the Cat is the product of being carried in moms mouth and getting hit right in front of me and it was only maybe a week or so old. I nursed that cat for two months by hand and it thinks I am his mommy.
But I wouldnt, couldnt do it unless all hope for their survival was gone and that likely would me we were all on the ropes. Our pets remind us of normalcy and are always glad to see us. I think cuddling a dog or cat might keep some people sane if we get hit hard.
LL-http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296865,00.html
Deer season didnt open for weeks, not that you use an AK for that.