We need to take a stand against Defra's new rules on registering all poultry in the UK. Not just flocks of 50 birds or more.
This was as the result of a consolation they did last year where the view was massively weighted by those who took part to keep things as they are. Yet in their wisdom they decided to do what they want anyway. What a surprise. You can see the results here.
Flocks will "have" to be registered by October, although they've not updated all their web pages yet you can find information here - Government link.
The new rules will mean you will have to tell them numbers, species and what they are kept for.
I don't trust Defra as an organisation. I still remember an angry lady ringing me about "my" sheep being in her field. She had got the number from Defra after giving them the ear tag number of a sheep I had sold three years previous. Good data protection.
This is a ridiculous step for people who have a few birds. Another step to discourage people from taking steps towards self reliance or taking control of their own food supply. Soon we'll be registering vegetable plots.
If they really wanted to protect the poultry industry they'd stop having industrial sheds of birds with tens of thousands inside. Our small flocks probably have more genetic diversity than a whole shed full. Avian Flu won't be stopped by keeping chickens trapped inside, with Defra going garden to garden to check, it'll be from healthy birds surviving and breeding, like they would in the wild.
Stand together. Don't comply. Defra can do one.
We had Newcastle's Disease here in California. The one thing I DIDN'T want to do was to tell ANYONE if you had a sick bird or lost a bird. Letting that cat out of the bag would result in the "county betters" showing up and nuking my whole flock! It didn't matter if it WAS Newcastle's Disease or just an old hen dying or a younger one dying because of desert heat. No testing, no nothing. They'd just come in and kill them all.
ReplyDeleteEven the commercial chicken ranchers say there's really nothing that can be done against Avian Flu. You can practice all the "biosecurity" you want. All that's needed is for one sick crow or duck to land in the compound, and the birds will start dying.
Indeed, as you say, better MANY people have SMALL flocks. That way, if a disease gets into the coop, it only takes out a few birds. That though, would be SMART. "Government" and "smart" go together like oil and water...
Oh Kev, that's bad news indeed. A very bad move on the part of the policy makers. It's pretty obvious (and apparently pretty universal) that these people are truly don't understand livestock and farming. Add to that they that get panicky so easily, and it's a recipe for future disaster for the whole planet.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like another example of a Quango totally divorced from the day-to-day realities of a country life, staffed by nincompoops who probably couldn't recognise a real hen if it sat in front of them. Wedded to their computer models (and we know just how unreliable they were about foot & mouth). With an obsession with paperwork and controls, making producing food ridiculously expensive and time-consuming.
ReplyDeleteSorry, rant over, I used to live on a small farm, heaven help them now.
It sounds like a Monty Python sketch. They will be asking people to show their cat licence next.
ReplyDeleteDon't give ANYONE in the California legislature IDEAS!!!
DeleteKevin, I am so proud of you. Best wishes for success in your efforts to maintain control of your flock and property. Who is more concerned with the health and safety of the food supply and the planet than those of us who have children and young ones we love and want to insure a healthy, prosperous future for them? Push back!!!
ReplyDeleteSadly, what a surprise. And registering for a "temporary" emergency never goes away.
ReplyDelete