The report “Avian Flu and Industrial Livestock” by the Animal Welfare Observatory (OBA) in Spain warns that the current avian flu crisis originates from the intensive poultry production model, characterized by large concentrations of animals and high genetic homogeneity.
According to the document, neither the confinement of birds nor vaccination is sufficient to control the virus without structural changes in density and biosecurity measures.
Risk factors in the intensive system
The study identifies four main characteristics that favor the spread of the virus:
- High densities and overcrowding, which facilitate contagion and increase stress in animals.
- Genetic homogeneity, which allows the rapid expansion of pathogens.
- Constant movement of people, vehicles, and animals, which spread the virus.
- Insufficient biosecurity, especially in large farms.
The OBA emphasizes that the transmission of the virus within the industry is largely due to human activities, turning intensive systems into a breeding ground for the adaptation of new resistant variants. The difficulty in cleaning and sterilizing large facilities further exacerbates the situation.
Criticism of the production model and supermarkets
The Observatory demands that supermarkets still selling code 3 eggs (from caged hens) fulfill their commitments to eliminate this practice. It recalls that 80% of the slaughtered birds come from closed farms, according to data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Veterinarian Míriam Martínez, director of Animal Welfare at OBA, denounces that supermarkets continuing to sell eggs from caged hens perpetuate an “unsustainable and dangerous” model. She points out that cages confine birds in a space equivalent to an A4 sheet of paper, preventing them from stretching, flapping, or scratching, which constitutes a cruel practice and part of the structural problem.
Avian flu: a global risk
Avian flu is a highly contagious viral disease that affects wild and domestic birds, with the ability to mutate and transmit to mammals and humans. Its impacts are multiple:
- Animal health: high mortality in chickens, turkeys, and wild species like flamingos and swans, forcing mass culling.
- Zoonosis and pandemic risk: strains like H5N1 have already infected humans and mammals (sea lions, cats), with concern that the virus may mutate to transmit efficiently among people.
- Economic and social impact: affects poultry production, disrupts trade, and generates high control and eradication costs.
- Spread: easily spreads among migratory and domestic birds, and through fomites like equipment and vehicles.
- Public health: even in non-pandemic cases, it can cause severe respiratory problems in humans.
Recent examples of spread
- United States (2024): the virus spread to dairy cows and workers in the dairy and poultry industry.
- South America (2024): more than 20,000 sea lions died from avian flu, highlighting its impact on marine mammals.
- Europe and other regions: recurrent outbreaks in poultry and wild birds, with mass culling and reinforced biosecurity measures.
Control measures and challenges
Current strategies include:
- Culling of infected birds, disinfection, and quarantine.
- Vaccines, whose implementation and effectiveness remain a challenge.
- Constant surveillance of wild and domestic birds to detect new strains.
- Improvement of biosecurity, crucial to prevent spread to humans and other animals.
The avian flu crisis is a multifaceted challenge that requires a coordinated global response. Palliative measures are not enough: it is necessary to question the intensive poultry production model, reduce animal density, improve biosecurity, and eliminate practices like cages. Only then will it be possible to protect animal health, food security, and human health against a risk that threatens to become a new pandemic.
