Defra is like a dead swan. Discuss

UK - The dead swan has been safely tucked away in the laboratory’s deep freeze. The scare story has retreated to the inside pages.

The Government’s chief scientist pronounces himself happy with the way the outbreak has been handled. There is really nothing much left to trouble us, it seems, about this avian flu business — save for the tell-tale whiff of complacency hanging in the air.

The way that the Government and the poultry industry responded to the discovery of an H5N1-infected bird in Scotland was, by all accounts, calm and professional; the precautions taken were swift and exemplary.

Just one swan infected out of more than 1,100 birds tested suggests that we are not witnessing the early stages of a pandemic. We can be quietly satisfied with the way our procedures worked.

Source: Times Online
calendar icon 12 April 2006
clock icon 1 minute read
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