Spain: More than 130,000 chickens slaughtered due to bird flu outbreak

Spanish authorities have killed more than 130,000 chickens following the discovery of a bird flu outbreak at an intensive farming operation in the northern Castile and Leon region, local officials said.

The trunks of the birds were thrown in an open-top truck, which transported them to a burning point outside the farm, showed images released by Greenpeace today.

“Appropriate measures have been taken to slaughter and dispose of the remains of all animals on the farm, which remains in quarantine,” the local veterinarian association said in a statement.

Authorities have cordoned off an area 10km from the farm, just outside the village of Iskar in Valladolid province, about 130km northwest of Madrid, but say there is little risk to humans.

“The possibility of transmitting the virus to humans is extremely rare and therefore we are not particularly concerned,” said Carillo Fernandes Carriedo, a spokesman for the Castile and Leon regional government.

Outbreaks of the virus, which is often transmitted from wild migratory birds to domestic animals, have been reported in France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Serbia.

Spain has identified five smaller outbreaks on farms and dozens more in wildlife so far this year, according to the agriculture ministry.

A spokesman for the Spanish Veterinary Association said it was not surprising that the virus had reached Spain as the Iberian Peninsula is on the trail of many migratory birds.

However, Greenpeace stressed that industrial farming practices increased the risk of spreading the disease, fueling an ongoing debate in Spain about the economic and social costs of intensive agriculture.

“It is urgent to put an end to this catastrophic model that endangers the health of the planet and humans,” he said.

Source: AMPE