Prior Experience with END

DISCLAIMER: We were given this advice to pass onto you in the event that you need to utilize it by someone who experienced a prior END outbreak. This information comes from an anonymous source and was not authored by this site.

I have been involved in previous debacles with the USDA and Newcastle outbreaks in Southern California in the past. May I add a few pointers if these goons come your way?

1. Unless they have a warrant do not allow them in at all costs!

2. Do NOT believe them on anything they may say and isn't in writing. They often tell you one thing then do another, they are professional liars!

3. Do not allow them near any of your birds and definitely do not allow them to handle your birds in any way for testing. Many years ago we allowed them to test our birds and they finally came up with what they claimed a positive. Two days after killing all our birds they admitted it was a mistake!

4. They cannot slaughter your birds till you establish a fair market value on them. Never allow them to bring their estimator in to do this, they will low ball prices. Always make them pay what the birds are worth or they simply cannot kill them!

5. Always play hardball with these people no matter how nice they are! They are not what they seem! Do not be deceived by their niceness they are truly wolves in sheeps clothes as you will soon see when you refuse them anything they want.

"Hot Zone" Advice

On January 23, 2003, there was a Task Force meeting held in the Norco area. Some 150 people attended the meeting and this is the major thrust of advice to bird owners:

One, if you have both poultry and exotic birds on your premises, you are basically signing a death warrant for your exotics. If you are located within a "hot zone", the Task Force will ASSUME your poultry is infected and depopulate ALL your birds without ANY testing. Many people are very attached to their poultry but this is a great risk to take.

Second, if your OWN premise is "red-tagged" or quarantined, it is IMPERATIVE that you call the number on the paperwork and APPEAL the quarantine immediately. You will receive a call back to arrange a time for a 3 or 4 way conference call with Task Force members to discuss "Why should your premises be exempted from quarantine?" That is the ONLY question they will want to discuss. And the answer they want to hear, is the biosecurity measures you are taking in detail. Biosecurity, strict and documented, is your only defense against the depopulation order. They do not care how many birds you have, how rare they are, how much they're worth, how long you've had them, what their names are, how attached you are to them, etc.

Be sure your plan includes "No Entry" or "No Tresspassing" signs and a footbath that is clean and has disinfectant. Quaternary ammonium products, such as Spectrasol and Roccal-D Plus work well for a footbath and do not stain.

Read everything they give you, know your rights, require them to bring a warrant to enter your premises, APPEAL and FIGHT!!

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