Media Hysteria about Bird Flu

[WoolyBear]

My Sincerest apologies in advanced for posting this news article that I got from Agnet. I don't wish to continue the media hysteria, but only to ask why they do publish such reports. What will happen next? Will the general public pressure the powers to be to round up and do a preemptive slaughter of backyard and free range flocks?
Lets hope not.

Britain plans mass human graves in case of bird flu: report
April 2, 2006
Agence France Presse
LONDON - The Sunday Times newspaper was cited as reporting that, based on a confidential Home Office report, Britain is considering mass human burials should a bird flu pandemic break out, and that a "prudent" worst-case assessment suggested 320,000 people could die in Britain if the H5N1 virus mutated into a form contagious to humans.
Titled Managing Excess Deaths in an Influenza Pandemic and dated March 22, the document reportedly says that such a large number of deaths could lead to delays of up to 17 weeks in burying or cremating victims.
It warned that "common burial" would stir up images of the mass burial pits used during the Great Plague of 1665.
But in fact it "might involve a large number of coffins buried in the same place at the same time, in such a way that allowed for individual graves to be marked".

[cowman]

I think the chicken boys are about to get hit with the chicken little phenomena! The Sky Is Falling!!!
Same sort of garbage we went through with BSE! If you eat beef you will surely die!
You gotta wonder sometimes about the media...and why anybody believes a word they say?

[cakadu]

The article is written by someone in the U.K. Whether the facts are right or not, you have to put the article into the perspective of the British public. These were the same people that were repeatedly told that there was nothing wrong with their beef. They have had other problems as well, no doubt blown out of proportion by various and sundry groups and media.

With all they have gone through, they may be thinking that this is erring on the side of caution and are putting it out there as such. Who knows how many other stories there are that are similar? Maybe this is just a one-off thing.

Personally, I don't think it is something that can be taken lightly and we need to be aware of things and use common sense. Going to this extreme is over the top, but maybe the authors thought differently. I don't for a moment condone spreading fear, panic and misinformation.

[cowman]

I wonder what will happen if/when Canada gets the deadly strain of bird flu? How does supply management deal with a sudden loss of confidence in a product and nobody buying? Or would that happen in Canada?
Would poultry producers still be guaranteed a price and market for their product?

[cakadu]

What we will see happening is even more pressure being put on the policy makers to have "backyard flocks" banned. This is a particular cause for concern for those who are raising heritage and/or endangered flocks of birds. There is absolutely no way they could afford the types of buildings that would be required to house the birds should something like that ever come to pass.

Just a little more ammunition against the small flock owner.