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Farmfair International cancels Poultry and Exotic Bird Show

October 24, 2005

Edmonton, AB --- As a responsible, proactive measure to protect public and agricultural interests in light of worldwide concerns over avian flu, Northlands Park has announced it will cancel all poultry and exotic bird shows at Farmfair International in November.

Exotic poultry and fowl shows have traditionally been part of the opening weekend of Farmfair International at Northlands Park in Edmonton November 5-13. In 2005, an international Fantail Pigeon show would have brought 3,000 pigeons from around the world to the event. As well, hundreds of specialty birds from across Western Canada were slated to gather at Northlands Park, opening up the potential for cross-contact that provides opportunity for transmission of disease. These birds are primarily exotic varieties.

“We made the decision to cancel all our bird shows this year after careful consultation with officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Alberta’s Provincial Veterinarian’s Office, as well as our agricultural partners at Alberta Chicken Producers,” says Dave Fiddler, Business Unit Manager for Agriculture at Northlands Park. “The information from each source indicated there was very minimal risk of exposure to avian flu during our show. Even that minimal risk is more than we as an organization are willing to risk when it comes to the protection of our agricultural industry and the public.”

John Kennelly, Dean of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics, believes it’s a responsible decision to cancel the bird shows at Farmfair International. “I loved to see the bird shows at Northlands Park, but times are changing. My concern would be what these exhibitors are taking home with them after the show.”

At Farmfair International, birds from across the country and world are brought into potential contact with each other, something that poultry producers and researchers don’t allow. “In our facilities, we don’t let anyone who has come into contact with any poultry in the past two days enter our facilities. And even then, they have to wear our overalls and boots, and change those boots in between each facility,” says Kennelly.

One form of the avian flu is a particularly virulent strain that the World Health Organization reports to be deadly to almost all domestic poultry within two days of contact, and has shown the ability to infect humans. The disease was first noticed in Asia in 2003, and in October 2005 has been tracked in Turkey and Romania. No cases have been detected in North America.

For more details on Avian Flu, visit Health Canada’s Avian Flu Fact Sheet at

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/avflu/avflufse.shtml

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