About 30,000 farmed geese had been killed utilizing firefighting foam as a part of the Victorian authorities’s effort to include chicken flu, a technique Animal Justice occasion MP Georgie Purcell has condemned as “nothing short of barbaric”.
The state’s agriculture minister, Ros Spence, confirmed Agriculture Victoria used Phos-Chek, a class-A foam, whereas responding to a extremely contagious pressure of avian influenza, or chicken flu, which emerged earlier this yr at a number of poultry farms.
“Foaming is approved for use in biosecurity emergencies and was deployed to ensure a rapid and humane method of depopulation,” Spence mentioned in response to a parliamentary query from Purcell.
Phos-Examine is used globally as an alternative choice to different firefighting foams that include per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that are identified to have dangerous enivornmental results.
Spence mentioned Phos-Examine was “PFAS-free” and “approved for use in biosecurity emergencies” to make sure a “rapid and humane method of depopulation”.
“Approximately 30,000 ducks were humanely depopulated, and the method chosen was based on site-specific factors such as the layout of the facility. The foam is designed to minimise the stress and suffering of the birds during the process,” she mentioned.
Spence mentioned animal welfare officers oversaw the method. However she didn’t reply Purcell’s supplementary query on whether or not animal welfare and environmental impacts had been thought of earlier than the froth was used.
Firefighting foam, or moist foam, was permitted in Australia in 2010 for culling floor-raised poultry, although it isn’t the popular technique of the Australian Veterinary Affiliation (AVA).
Dr Melanie Latter, the AVA’s head of coverage and veterinary science, mentioned the froth both suffocates the birds or drowns them if it has an excessive amount of water content material.
“Either way, the inability to breathe, and the associated rise in CO2 in the blood stream, is a fundamentally stressful experience for any animal, as the physiological response is to fight hard to breathe before losing consciousness,” Latter mentioned.
She mentioned there have been explicit issues with utilizing foam on geese because of their diving reflex, which permits them to carry their breath underwater and slows their coronary heart charge.
“This has been reported to prolong their times to death,” Latter mentioned.
Purcell mentioned the usage of foam is an “abhorrent and prolonged slaughter method,” particularly for geese, describing it as “nothing short of barbaric”.
“As [ducks] see the foam come out and spread, their response is to hold their breath – something that other birds can’t do,” she mentioned.
“Instead of inhaling the deadly chemicals, they are actually dying in a slow agonising manner from heatstroke or organ failure by holding their breath while being buried alive under the foam.”
Purcell mentioned she was involved authorities could also be utilizing foam because of a CO2 scarcity. Nevertheless, Latter mentioned it was used as a result of there have been no different strategies out there in Australia that would shortly and effectively cull birds with minimal contact.
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In Europe and Canada, she mentioned birds are culled with inert gases, resembling nitrogen, that are thought of “most humane”, as they render the animals unconscious earlier than killing them.
“We strongly encourage the Australian government to investigate this and invest in this technology,” Latter mentioned.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA additionally referred to as for additional analysis to develop extra humane strategies of managing biosecurity outbreaks, in addition to preventive measures resembling vaccination.
“The RSPCA is opposed to all inhumane methods of killing. Animals should either be killed instantly or rendered insensible until death ensues, without pain, suffering or distress,” they mentioned.
There have been no additional instances of chicken flu in Victoria since 24 June, after an outbreak at eight poultry farms earlier this yr. On Thursday, Agriculture Victoria lifted some measures across the Terang space, although a management order stays in place in Meredith.
Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, mentioned efforts to include chicken flu had been “nearing its conclusion” and that it had been the state’s “longest running biosecurity response”.
A Victorian authorities spokesperson mentioned greater than 1.3m chickens and geese have been culled as a part of the response.
They mentioned the state authorities was “undertaking enhanced preparedness planning” for future outbreaks and the Commonwealth was conducting a young course of for the availability of CO2 to be used throughout bigger chicken flu emergency responses.
In keeping with the Division of Vitality, Setting and Local weather Motion’s annual report 2023/24, tabled in parliament final week, the federal government spent $7.83m on emergency contracts to handle the outbreak, together with 20 contracts price $100,000 or extra for poultry destruction, website cleansing and decontamination, and private protecting gear.
