D66 MP Tjeerd de Groot also calls for vaccination. At the beginning of this year, he came up with the Bird Flu Action Plan. The intention was to start vaccinating at the end of this year. But that hasn’t happened yet.
big drama
“That’s a big drama,” says De Groot. “In the first place for the chickens. If an infection is detected, all animals on a farm must now be killed. That is a drama for the animals and the farmers. It is crazy to kill so many animals while there is a vaccine which works quite well.”
That vaccine protects chickens, but helps to prevent the spread only a little. That is why a large trial is now underway to find a better vaccine.
Don’t wait for a ‘perfect vaccine’
“I have nothing against a search for an even better vaccine,” says De Groot. “But we’ll be working on that for another year. And we really can’t afford that.”
“This existing available vaccine has already been used in 2 billion animals and with a demonstrably reduced chance of it spreading. Animals don’t get sick. So let’s start with that and not wait for an even better ‘perfect’ vaccine. That is bad for animals and for the taxpayer.
European Union
However, first the rules within the European Union must be relaxed. The agreement is that eggs and meat from chickens that have been vaccinated against bird flu may not be traded.
“That’s why I say: Minister Adema is going to beat the drum in Brussels,” says De Groot. “So that you can go to the European Commission with other countries with the same problems, for example France or Germany. Then you request permission to vaccinate and that automatically means that those products can then be traded.”
Long-term
Even that doesn’t solve everything. “Vaccination is in the short term, but we have to prevent this from happening in the long term. This can be done by making our livestock smaller and creating more space,” says the MP. “We have 100 million chickens in the Netherlands on a very small area. And we also have nature.
“Actually, such a large barn with thousands of chickens is a large mixing vessel for viruses. If bird flu is added to that, there is a chance that it will change and become dangerous for people.”