Freerange hens not to blame for Avian Influenza

 Claims by major egg producers that the current Victorian outbreaks of Avian Influenza had been caused by hens on freerange farms are false.The outbreaks around Lethbridge and Meredith have been on large, corporate businesses which cannot be compared with genuine freerange farms. The problem in one of overcrowding. Any disease spreads like wildfire when animals are in confined spaces. Political interference, allowing intensive producers with 10,000 hens per hectare to classify themselves as free range was simply absurd. An adult hen produces half a cubic metre of manure a year. Which means that 10,000 chickens produce a mountain of 5000 cubic metres on each hectare of land each year  - resulting in health risks as well as degrading soil health and waterways. Ohio State University says: "HPAI virus infection in poultry (H5 or H7 viruses) can cause disease that affects multiple internal organs resulting in a mortality rate of up to 100%, often within 48 hours. When H5 or H7 avian influenza outbreaks occur in poultry, infected flocks are typically depopulated or culled. The preferred method of stopping spread is to quarantine and screen flocks that are near or linked to the infected flock."