Almost 400 native Australian bird and mammal species have been assessed as being at a high risk – or worse – from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, a federal government assessment has revealed.
Some of Australia’s most beloved animals – including species of penguins, fur seals, quolls, dolphins, more than 300 birds and the Tasmanian devil – are considered at least high risk from the virus, meaning they could suffer “severe reduction in population size or viability” or worse if it reached them.
Five species are considered at extreme risk, meaning “unlikely to survive where the virus occurs”.
These are all birds that breed in single islands or groups of islands, such as the endangered Christmas Island frigatebird and the critically endangered herald petrel, which only breeds on Raine Island in the far north of the Great Barrier Reef.
More than 80 endangered and critically endangered species are also considered to be facing at least a high risk from an infection, suggesting that the H5N1 strain of bird flu will push them further towards extinction.
The federal government released the results of the assessment of more than 2,000 native species, carried out with Charles Darwin University and BirdLife Australia, on Tuesday evening. Nearly one in five have been rated as facing extreme, very high or high risk.
Australian sea lions, whose populations have declined by 60% in four decades, are at very high risk of H5N1. Photograph: Brad Leue/Alamy
Australia’s three resident seals – the Australian fur seal, the New Zealand fur seal and the Australian sea lion – are all considered at very high risk. The Tasmanian devil and the eastern quoll, both assessed as high risk, are the land mammals at greatest threat.
The extent of the analysis and the number of species considered at high risk underlines expert fears for the threat to local wildlife.
Prof John Woinarski, a leading conservation scientist at Charles Darwin University who helped devise the analysis, said: “This has sketched out a more bleak picture than perhaps we considered previously.
“We are going to get major consequences for many species and our bird and mammal diversity is likely to suffer substantial impacts from this disease.”
Tasmanian devils and eastern quolls are the land mammals at greatest threat. Photograph: Eric J Woehler
Prof Hugh Possingham of the University of Queensland, a lead councillor at the Biodiversity Council, said the analysis was “a good first cut” but it should have been released two years ago.
“A year ago we needed a priority action list and we should have been taking action then because everyone knew that it was coming,” he said.
Kate Millar, the chief executive of BirdLife Australia, said while the list of species at high risk or worse was “long” and “incredibly confronting” it also meant Australia could “prioritise and take action protecting the species most at risk”.
Jack Gough, the chief executive of the Invasive Species Council, said the “list of doom” revealed “the true extent of the disaster facing Australian wildlife”.
He said it demanded a “serious response” from the government “but instead we have had cuts to on-ground environment programs nationally”.
“Almost one in five Australian mammals and birds has been rated by the government as at risk of severe population reductions or even extinction,” he said. “This includes quolls, parrots, seals and pelicans.”
The critically endangered orange-bellied parrot is among several parrot species at high risk of bird flu. Photograph: Minden Pictures/Alamy
The council is among several conservation groups calling for the government to fund a $200m package to scale up on-ground efforts to protect wildlife, including feral animal controls.
The government has said it has committed $113m to prepare for bird flu, including $47m “to accelerate protective action” for threatened species and biodiversity.
The environment minister, Murray Watt, said the risk analysis had already informed investments to protect captive animal populations, removing feral threats and inoculating against more common diseases.
“We have been investing in these types of projects across the country for several years in preparation for a bird flu outbreak, and as a result, our native species are in a better position to withstand the H5 incursion.”
Jess Abrahams, national nature campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation, said: “Australia is already in the midst of an extinction crisis and we need to be prepared for just how harrowing this could get.
“Australians love nature and we all need to be emotionally prepared for the onslaught that could occur and know what to do if they come across a sick, dying or dead animal.”
The H5N1 virus has killed millions of birds and mammals since it spread from Europe in 2021 to every continent on the planet.
Australia was the final continent to be breached six weeks ago, when infected Antarctic and subantarctic migratory seabirds were found dead and sick in Western Australia and South Australia.
The virus has now been confirmed in more than 100 individual birds and air surveillance has recorded the first mass mortality event from the disease, in South Australia. Detections have also been confirmed in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
First published in 1998, “Chicken For Dinner: It’s Enough to Make You Sick” is newly available from United Poultry Concerns with updated content and references. Does it surprise you to know that the information presented in 1998 from the 1980s and 1990s followed by countless articles, scientific reports, blog posts, and whatnot since then, has hardly changed a bit?
The decision to update “Chicken For Dinner” coincides with the publication, on January 7, 2016, of the Eighth Edition of Dietary Guidelines For Americans 2015-2020, a document published every 5 years by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines is a hodgepodge of claims and “recommendations” that seems purposely designed to confuse people while ensuring that the production and consumption of animals, eggs, and dairy will not be disrupted in the quest for health.
Chicken For Dinner It’s Enough to Make You Sick
By Karen Davis, Ph.D., President of United Poultry Concerns
Fat and Cholesterol in Meat
“Dietary cholesterol is found only in animal foods such as egg yolk, dairy products, shellfish, meats, and poultry.”[1]
“Cholesterol in eggs, poultry, cheese, and meat contributes to heart attacks and other health risks.” – Neal D. Barnard, M.D., President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. [2]
“Plant-based diets benefit heart health because they contain no dietary cholesterol, very little saturated fat, and abundant fiber.” [3]
“The color of meat is irrelevant.” – Biochemist Shi Huang, Burnham Institute for Medical Research. [4]
Many people have switched from red meat to chicken, believing chicken to be a healthier choice. However, chicken is not a healthy food choice. For one thing, chicken is not low in fat. Skinless chicken breast meat derives 23% of calories from fat and skinless turkey breast meat derives 18% of calories from fat. By comparison, lentils derive 3% of calories from fat, potatoes 1% and spaghetti noodles 4%. Like all meat, chicken is permeated with artery-clogging saturated fat – you can’t cut it away.
The cholesterol content of chicken or turkey is comparable to that of beef or pork, about 25 milligrams per ounce. [5] These levels are similar because “the cell membranes in all muscles, regardless of species, have cholesterol inside the membrane.” [6]
Cholesterol occurs mainly in the lean portions of meat. The saturated fats that permeate these portions raise cholesterol levels by stimulating the liver to make more cholesterol. Thus, even “lean” meats including poultry have significant amounts of saturated fat in addition to cholesterol. [7] By contrast, plants have no cholesterol.
Image by Nigel Burroughs, Nature’s Chicken
Fat and Cholesterol in Eggs
According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), 60% of eggs’ calories are from fat, and eggs are the leading source of cholesterol in America. Eggs can increase the risk of diabetes 68%, heart disease 19%, prostate cancer 81% and colon cancer by nearly five times. Contrary to egg industry claims that eggs are health foods, PCRM cites studies in the journal Atherosclerosis and the Canadian Journal of Cardiology showing that eggs contribute significantly to heart disease. [8]
Food Poisoning
Food poisoning kills 3,000 Americans each year and makes 48 million sick. [9] The number of food poisoned people is actually much higher, since many don’t report their illnesses. Of all sources of foodborne illness, “Poultry is the most common cause of food poisoning in the home,” states Michael Greger, M.D. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show more deaths attributable to poultry consumption than to any other food product. [10]
Consumer Reports publishes its test findings on raw chicken every few years. In 1998, CR found harmful bacteria, chiefly Salmonella and Campylobacter, on 71% of store-bought chicken, including “free-range” and “premium” brands. They warned that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s seal of approval “is no guarantee of cleanliness.” [11]
In 2007, Consumer Reports announced tests on 525 chickens purchased from U.S. supermarkets and specialty stores in 23 states. 84% were contaminated with Campylobacter and Salmonella bacteria. Moreover, 84% of the Salmonella and 67% of the Campylobacter bacteria showed resistance to antibiotics including “multiple classes of drugs.” [12]
In Dangerous contaminated chickenpublished in 2014, Consumer Reports confirmed that 97% of 300 chicken breasts purchased by their investigators in stores across the country – including organic brands – contained dangerous bacteria. More than half were contaminated with feces and nearly half tested positive for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. [13 ]
For decades the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that the main sources of foodborne diseases in people are “meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products, and eggs,” and that 90% of these illnesses are caused by bacteria, specifically: Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Staphylococcus, Shigella, and Yersinia. According to the USDA: “Chicken and turkey gravies are specifically identified, along with meat, meat stews, meat pies, and beef, as a major source of Clostridium perfringens.” [14]
Clostridium perfringens – the bacterial pathogen that rots and liquefies chickens’ intestines and skin to pus and jelly – is described by FoodSafety.gov as “one of the most common causes of food poisoning in the United States.” Considered to cause “nearly a million illnesses each year” in the U.S., it sickens consumers of beef, poultry, and gravies – gravies that are made with animal fat “drippings.” [15]
Salmonella and Campylobacter
“campylobacter or salmonella, the leading bacterial causes of foodborne disease.” – Consumer Reports [16]
Salmonellosis is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract causing nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, chills, weakness, and exhaustion. If the bacteria penetrate the intestinal tissue and enter the blood, Salmonella can colonize other tissues, causing septicemia (blood poisoning), meningitis, osteomyelitis, and even death. Like Campylobacter, Shigella, or Yersinia, Salmonella can cause chronic joint diseases, such as arthritis. According to the Agricultural Research Service, “an infection in the gastrointestinal tract by Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, or Yersinia bacteria can lead to inflammation of an organ or joint that is far removed from the site of infection.” [17]
In 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 181 people in 40 states infected with Salmonella from contact with live poultry, including birds purchased in feed stores. [18] CDC data showed that the 2013 Foster Farms outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg, which infected 389 people, put twice as many consumers of chicken in the hospital as usual. [19] According to the CDC, every single confirmed case of Salmonella Enteritidis in the country represents “38 cases in the general population.” [20]
Campylobacteriosis is a bacterial infection of the intestines that results from eating and handling chicken products. Symptoms include cramps, chills, excruciating pain, diarrhea and fever. The digestive tract takes about two weeks to recover. Antibiotic treatment for campylobacteriosis is largely ineffective, due to the increased resistance of Campylobacter organisms to antibiotics. According to the Food Standards Agency in the UK, where 70% of chickens tested positive for Campylobacter in 2014, “Campylobacter is the most common form of food poisoning in the UK, sickening roughly 280,000 people a year. In the U.S., Campylobacter is estimated to cause 1.3 million illnesses each year.” [21]
In addition to being a leading cause of bacterial food poisoning in the United States, including 200 to 800 deaths each year, Campylobacter is linked to a paralytic disease that can cause fatal nerve damage known as Guillain-Barre syndrome. According to The New York Times, “there are about 5,000 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome a year, and researchers say that 20% to 40% of them follow a campylobacter infection.” [22]
Scientists say Campylobacter is “currently the most significant pathogen that can be transmitted from animals to humans through meat . . . causing a massive number of infections and inflammations.” Campylobacter is specifically linked to the consumption and handling of poultry products. [23]
Carcinogenic Solution: “Thorough Cooking”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture always recommends “thorough cooking” of contaminated poultry instead of telling people to avoid it. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) explains the risk of “thorough cooking.” If raw or undercooked poultry products are crawling with bacteria that can make people sick, thorough cooking of these products can, the same as with red meat, result in the formation of cancer-causing compounds known as heterocyclic amines. [24]
According to PCRM, “It has long been known that cooked red meat contains cancer-causing heterocyclic amines, which form as the meat is heated.” A study by the National Cancer Institute (part of the National Institutes of Health under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) showed that “oven-broiled, pan-fried, or grilled/barbecued chicken carries an even bigger load of these carcinogens than does red meat.” [25]
Diseases Traced to Animal Remains in Chicken Feed
Poultry feed contains dead birds and other animal remains – bones, feathers, blood, offal, manure, restaurant grease, fishmeal, slaughterhouse condemnations and all sorts of diseased, putrid and rancid refuse as part of the “recycling” process. [26] Poultry feed – “animal protein” – is a primary source of Salmonella contamination, and poultry waste products are linked to cardiopulmonary diseases in chickens. [27] Not only are sick birds shipped directly to consumers, but animals who die of undiagnosed diseases before slaughter are fed to the chickens and turkeys people eat, along with other animals who died of unknown causes. [28] Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods and other poultry producers conceal the content of poultry feeds, including the antibiotic content, as government protected “proprietary information.”
Farmaceuticals: Massive Amounts of Antibiotics Fed to Chickens
“U.S. regulators don’t monitor how the drugs are administered on the farm – in what doses, for what purpose, or for how long.” – Reuters [29]
An investigation by Reuters, published on November 15, 2014, revealed: “Major U.S. poultry farms are administering antibiotics to their flocks far more pervasively than regulators realize, posing a potential risk to human health. Internal records examined by Reuters reveal that some of the nation’s largest poultry producers [Perdue, Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, George’s, Koch Foods, Foster Poultry Farms] – routinely feed chickens an array of antibiotics – not just when sickness strikes, but as a standard practice over most of the birds’ lives. In every instance of antibiotic use identified by Reuters, the doses were at the low levels that scientists say are especially conducive to the growth of so-called superbugs, bacteria that gain resistance to conventional medicines used to treat people.”
The Cost of “Cheap” Chicken
If chicken were produced less unwholesomely and hazardously it would not be a cheap product. As Broiler Industry magazine said years ago, “The cost to the consumer would be enormous.” Moreover, “the cost of eliminating salmonella from flocks and raw finished product may force the price of poultry to increase to the point that poultry must be imported from less expensive sources.” [30] This is already happening. Poultry products are imported to the United States under provisions set forth by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [31]
Commercial Chickens are Raised in Excrement
The chickens one buys at the supermarket lived and breathed, not just in tons of excrement, but in tons of abnormal excrement. Because of their horrible diet, their wastes contain more pollutants than do the wastes of animals on healthy diets. In addition to the solid excrement on the floor, the birds breathe toxic excretory ammonia throughout their lives. These poisonous gases permeate the air, rising from the decomposing uric acid in the accumulated droppings in the chicken houses. They penetrate egg shells. They enter the birds’ airways and immune system, inviting Salmonella and other pathogens to colonize and spread. [32] The droppings themselves contain disease organisms, drug residues, cysts, larvae, and metals such as copper, and zinc. [33] Until 2016, arsenic could be legally added to what was fed to chickens and turkeys in the U.S., and there is no telling whether arsenic-compounds are still being used since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced, effective December 31, 2015, that it would no longer approve new applications for arsenic-based drugs for farmed animals. [34]
14. Jean C. Buzby and Tanya Roberts, ERS Estimates U.S. Foodborne Disease Costs. FoodReview, USDA, Economic Research Service, Vol. 18, Issue 2, May-August 1995:27-42.
15. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Clostridium perfringens, Foodsafety.gov, January 14, 2016.
20. FDA-USDA, Egg Safety Public Meeting Transcript of Proceedings. Columbus, Ohio, March 30, 2000. Cited in Karen Davis, Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern PoultryIndustry, Summertown, TN: Book Publishing Company, 2009:57.
25. Neal D. Barnard, M.D., Foods Against Cancer: An Update. Good Medicine (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine), Spring 1996:16.
26. National Research Council, Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 9th ed. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1994. Feedstuffs, Jan 14, 1991:27; Nov 25, 1996:5.
27. Richard J. Julian, et al., Effect of poultry by-product meal on pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular failure and ascites in broiler chickens, Canadian Veterinary Journal 33 (June 1992):385.
28. Scott Bronstein, Chicken, How Safe? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 26, 1991:C1.
CANBERRA, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Australia warned on Monday against the risk of a wider spread of H5N1 bird flu after its first mass mortality episode among seabirds killed about 50 greater crested terns off the coast south of Adelaide.
However, there is no evidence yet of the virus on Australia’s farms, many of which have locked down to safeguard poultry flocks since it was first detected in June.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said testing confirmed H5N1 bird flu in a group of 49 dead and 35 sick terns found by helicopter surveillance on rocks off Cape Jaffa, 250 km (155 miles) from Adelaide on Friday.
“Australians should expect to see more spread and larger numbers now of wildlife being affected,” she told reporters in Canberra, the capital.
“This is the first confirmed case of a mass mortality,” she added. “Once the H5 bird flu is spreading in wildlife and the natural environment, it is not possible to avoid significant losses, which is what we’re starting to see now.”
Australia’s tally of 74 confirmed cases is spread as wide as the states of Western Australia and Queensland, though most cases were in South Australia, Collins said.
Australia and New Zealand – which saw its first H5N1 case last month – have spent years bracing for the virus, with steps such as tighter biosecurity at farms, testing of shore birds, vaccinating vulnerable species and war-gaming response plans.
The virus has killed hundreds of millions of birds and mammals in recent years, causing billions of dollars in losses to poultry farmers, infecting cattle in the United States and littering beaches with corpses of birds and seals.
H5N1 bird flu can infect humans who have contact with infected animals. But the number of cases worldwide is small and officials say the risk to humans is low.
(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)
A recent article listed new animal trapping regulations in Maine. While I am against hunting for sport, I am amazed that people still use traps. While guides and trappers will claim they follow legal protocols and regulations, I find it inhumane and simply cruel to use a device that causes severe lacerations, broken bones, joint dislocations or the drowning of wild animals.
Once “caught” the creature is typically in severe pain, frightened and totally helpless until the trapper eventually returns. Depending on location, Maine law only requires traps to be checked every five days. Meaning there is the real possibility for an animal, including a non-target species such as endangered wildlife or a family pet, to get caught and die a horribly painful death over five days.
Why is this activity considered a sport or even permitted? Is it the power over the defenseless animal, the ability to legally inflict inhumane pain or the surprise of what animal breed is trapped that causes a person to trap?
Sounds like the sport is “trapped” in the 1800s to me.
Exposing the Big Game 