Posted : 2021-02-08 13:34Updated : 2021-02-09 09:04

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Animal rights activists stage a protest at Gwanghwamun, Seoul, in this Jan. 25 photo, calling for a halt to the culling of poultry as a method to prevent the spread of avian influenza, saying there are other options. Yonhap

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2021/02/119_303745.html

By Bahk Eun-ji

While the government has been bolstering measures to prevent the spread of avian influenza, animal welfare organizations and veterinarians are criticizing the measures ― culling poultry regardless of whether or not they have been infected.

They say culling is nothing more than animal slaughter, and vaccines for the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu should be introduced as a preventive measure.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the number of chickens and ducks culled here, since last Nov. 26 when the first H5N8 case broke out, topped 25.3 million as of Feb. 3. There were 75 cases of infections nationwide.

In Gyeonggi Province alone, more than 6.8 million chicken and ducks in 83 poultry and egg farms were culled during the same period. Of these, 4.24 million at 65 farms, or 61 percent, were culled as a preventive measure although they were not infected with the virus.

The government has been culling all poultry within a three-kilometer radius of infected farms since 2018.

However, animal welfare organizations and veterinary associations are questioning whether the government’s policy is the only viable solution.

Members of 45 organizations, including the Korea Association for Animal Protection (KAAP), held a press conference in Gwanghwamun in Seoul last month, saying more than 100 million poultry have been buried underground since the very first outbreak of avian influenza here in 2003.

“Based on scientific and elaborate analysis, culling should be carried out mainly on the farms infected with the virus. As a fundamental measure to solve the problem, a vaccine for H5N8 should be introduced, just like vaccines turned out to be the fundamental solution to end the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lee Won-bok, head of the KAAP.

“Although the country can minimize culling by using vaccines, the government sticks to culling and it seems to only be because of administrative convenience.”

Lee Sung-sik, head of the Gyeonggi Veterinary Medical Association, also said even though there is a simple test kit that can detect the virus within three hours, the government adheres to culling the animals without convincing reasons.

“It seems the authorities are hesitant out of fear of losing the country’s status as a bird flu clean zone if they use vaccines for avian influenza, but now we have to begin vaccination as the virus breaks out every year,” he said.

According to him, losing its status as a “bird flu clean zone” could result in restrictions on the export of domestic poultry and related products, and increase the possibility of allowing imports of poultry products from China, which have been banned as the country is not designated as a clean zone.

In August 2008, Korea declared itself a bird flu clean zone in accordance with guidelines set by the World Health Organization.

He also noted the biggest reason for the government’s hesitation to implement a vaccination program is fear of a virus mutation that could be deadly to humans.

Culled chickens are buried near a poultry farm in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 21, after an outbreak of avian influenza was confirmed there. Yonhap

Virus variants can develop when vaccines are used; the H5N8 strain of avian influenza does not pose a great threat to human health, but there is a chance for a variant to develop that is lethal to humans, he explained.

“The virus is powerful enough to infect a million birds with just 1 gram,” an official of the agriculture ministry said, adding no one can predict what mutations could occur or how these mutations might affect humans.

“Despite the large number of culled birds, it should be understood as a measure to prevent greater damage,” he added.

Some other experts argued that the government’s position is understandable given that some types of avian influenza can infect both animals and humans, but claimed the government still needs to consider other options.

“We should not blindly block the introduction of a vaccine, but examine the possibility of a variant in a scientific and rational manner,” said Song Chang-sun, a professor of veterinary medicine at Konkuk University.