Thanks for noting your confusion, I updated the language in the opening to be specific about this—the netting would block bird/​mink or bird/​pig contact, preventing the mammals from getting infected and thus becoming a system in which a mammalian-transmissible bird flu strain could evolve
Is the hypothesis that the minks are more likely to have caught it from encounters with wild birds, than the raw poultry that you mention they were fed on?
Perhaps a ban on feeding them poultry would be tractable/​helpful if not?
I suspect both are potential transmission routes. I think a ban on feeding them poultry is a good thing to consider. I’m also interested in examining how the poultry products they’re fed could be monitored, processed, or substituted in order to mitigate the risk. My guess is you get a lot more traction with making change when you can find an alterantive solution that works better for the farm from an economic perspective. Farms don’t want to risk their animals being culled due to an outbreak, but they also don’t want to face significant short-term cost increases in a competitive landscape.
Because the Spanish mink farm culling is the first of its kind, this is a new issue farms are facing and there may be substantial low-hanging fruit here in terms of feed alternatives.
Agreed. Worth looking into alternatives that would be good for everyone.
Low hanging fruit sounds like a good alternative :p now I’m picturing the minks chilling under a bunch of trees, picking and ’til they get their fill. Sadly, that’s very far from the situation…
I don’t fully understand why the netted enclosure helps. Is the idea just that it prevents humans from coming close to the barns?
Thanks for noting your confusion, I updated the language in the opening to be specific about this—the netting would block bird/​mink or bird/​pig contact, preventing the mammals from getting infected and thus becoming a system in which a mammalian-transmissible bird flu strain could evolve
Is the hypothesis that the minks are more likely to have caught it from encounters with wild birds, than the raw poultry that you mention they were fed on?
Perhaps a ban on feeding them poultry would be tractable/​helpful if not?
I suspect both are potential transmission routes. I think a ban on feeding them poultry is a good thing to consider. I’m also interested in examining how the poultry products they’re fed could be monitored, processed, or substituted in order to mitigate the risk. My guess is you get a lot more traction with making change when you can find an alterantive solution that works better for the farm from an economic perspective. Farms don’t want to risk their animals being culled due to an outbreak, but they also don’t want to face significant short-term cost increases in a competitive landscape.
Because the Spanish mink farm culling is the first of its kind, this is a new issue farms are facing and there may be substantial low-hanging fruit here in terms of feed alternatives.
Agreed. Worth looking into alternatives that would be good for everyone.
Low hanging fruit sounds like a good alternative :p now I’m picturing the minks chilling under a bunch of trees, picking and ’til they get their fill. Sadly, that’s very far from the situation…
Indeed :/​
Prevents contact between birds and minks I believe, reducing the likelihood of another crossover of H1N5 between the species.