New Zealand is “paying a high price” for a shift to free-range practices, a former poultry farmer alleges, as concerns emerge about a second Otago egg farm.
The comments from former Otago Peninsular egg-farmer Pieter Bloem come as Biosecurity New Zealand works through the culling of 80,000 chickens at a Mainland Poultry farm at Hillgrove, near Moeraki, after the H7N6 strain of avian flu was confirmed last weekend.
Another farm, near Dunedin, was also placed under control for testing as a precautionary measure yesterday.
The property is not owned by Mainland Poultry and Biosecurity New Zealand were investigating if there were any links between the first property and this one.
It has 6000 chickens.
Mr Bloem said the industry knew an outbreak was coming.
Further, free-range flocks would continue to come into contact with waterfowl with the virus and after this outbreak was contained, egg producers would simply be awaiting the next one.
Hens raised inside aren’t exposed to wild fowl which carry diseases.
“We’re paying a high price for the free-range bull….”
The initial messaging from the ministry had been overly optimistic, he said.
First it was hoped the outbreak could be confined to one shed at Hillgrove “and then there’s two sheds the next day”.
“The whole lot will be going.
“It wasn’t … a matter of ‘if’ it would happen, it was ‘when’ it was going to happen.” . .
When the demand for free-range hens was first introduced the supply of eggs dropped and, inevitably, prices soared.
The supply gradually increased as farmers adapted to the new rules, but, as almost always happens, prices didn’t drop back as far as they’d risen.
Now we’re facing another shortage, and price rises, in the wake of the culling of those 80,000 hens.
This is hard on the staff and the company, it will also have an economic impact with all exports halted.
Although there is no danger to human health that is the correct response to safeguard the country’s reputation for food safety.
But that too will have a high cost, even if the export halt is temporary.
Is it too much to hope that businesses will learn from this not to get ahead of what customers want?
Animal welfare is an important consideration in food production but it must be based on sound science and not emotion as the supermarkets’ demand for free-range hens was.
Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
7 comments:
My recollection is different. Supermarkets commissioned research into customer preferences and discovered they wanted free-range eggs not caged bird eggs. Then the customers who demanded the change refused to pay the increased prices brought about by less efficient production. So it seems to me a classic demonstration of why consumers should be be careful what they wished for.
Just when the price of eggs has recently dropped to a reasonable level now this happens. Not good
Large number of healthy animals are being culled based upon the results of tests that are looking for genetic sequences of unknown provenance that have been sourced not from viral particles separated from all other things, but from cell cultures that contain a mixture of samples from different tissues of multiple different origins.
Virology doesn't follow the scientific method, lacking appropriate controls and falsifiable hypotheses. As soon as you see the phrases "asymptomatic illness" and "asymptomatic transmission" know that you've entered the world of pseudoscience.
Koch's logical postulates for germ theory requires that the "pathogen" that causes an illness only be found in individuals who have the illness and not those who are healthy. Asymptomatic individuals are not ill excluding the pathogen as the cause of the illness. To learn more google viroliegy
It's another con.
I prefer cageless eggs and pay the price. I try to be selective in my food choices against cruelty. Not easy to be confident in available information.
I don't eat fish because of the remorseless exploitation of the oceans.
You are right.
Navis Capital Partners is the owner of Mainland Poultry through the Indus Valley vehicle. Navis Capital is a private equity firm based in Malaysia that acquired a majority stake in Mainland Poultry in 2017.
In 2017, Navis Capital paid US\$242 million for 75% of Mainland Poultry. The sale was reported to exceed $100 million by the Overseas Investment Office, but Australian media reports said it was closer to NZ\$350 million.
Fire-hit Mainland Poultry fails to file accounts!! THE poultry company hit by a fire that killed 50,000 hens is now facing action after failing to file its accounts to the Companies Office, in spite of three reminders.
Now mysteriously hit with “bird flu” and the culling of 80,000 perfectly healthy chickens.
Something “stinks” here, and I’m not buying it!
Let me get this straight? The supermarkets in NZ, who operate under a monopolized environment, commissioned research into customer preferences and "discovered" free range not caged was the #1 consumer choice. Does anyone else see the problem here?
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