LATEST FROM PETER BRYANT

[Guest TAMMY_1]

CONTINENTAL RACING AND SOME IRRESPONSIBLE RUMOURS

 

 

 

Stop!  Stop!  Stop!  A weekend away in Ostend was marred by rumours circulating both in Ostend and in Britain on 2 counts.  Firstly, some people had seen a new licence issued on the DEFRA website and wrongly assumed that this would only allow UK racing.  The new licence was in fact issued specifically so that we could enter a UK team in the Olympiad.  I have been liaising with DEFRA for several months to get dispensation for an amended licence so that we could compete and the revamped licence was the result of that.  Negotiations are still ongoing with regards to racing from the continent but I say to you here and now that we are working hard with DEFRA and, subject to any AI outbreak, hope to get a positive resolution for continental racing in the next 2 weeks.  I have absolutely no reason to doubt at this juncture why that will not happen.

 

Secondly I understand also that another rumour is circulating that the RPRA President has been reported as saying to DEFRA ‘that pigeon racing would be stopped following an outbreak’.  This is not true.  This quote is from DRAFT minutes of the meeting held with DEFRA in December where Pat was misquoted.  Both the NEHU and the RPRA challenged these comments. Regretfully and somewhat irresponsibly someone who was not at the meeting but who received the minutes has circulated these comments.  The fact of the matter is that we said we would work with DEFRA should there be an outbreak in the UK.  We did it last year with the Scottish outbreak where the SHU took the very responsible lead of advising their members near Cellardyke.  

 

PLEASE do not listen to rumours.  If there is any news to report you will get it from me just as soon as I have it from DEFRA.  I give you two assurances.  One, that I will continue to represent RPRA interests to achieve the best possible result for pigeon racing in the UK and the continent and secondly that I will keep you all advised on news, progress etc.  You gave me your support in 2006 in difficult times. I ask for that again. I sincerely believe that 2007 will be a lot rosier.  Let’s not cause consternation by spreading or listening to rumours.  

 

 

 

Peter Bryant

 

General Manager

 

 

[Diamond dave]

WELL SAID PETER BRYANT - WE ARE LUCKY TO BE SO WELL REPRESENTED - LETS ALL TRY TO BE A LITTLE MORE OPTIMISTIC OVER THE COMING FEW WEEKS.

 

D.D.

[Pompey Mick]

Well said Peter Bryant,but it would have been better if Peter had issued an Email on the subject of the change to the DEFRA licence earlier. It was dated 22nd Jan so he had plenty of time. It is hardly an irresponsible rumour when we get a new DEFRA licence with no inkling that it is an interim Licence.

Hopefully Peter Bryant's optimism is well founded and that we get a much improved licence soon.

[Guest]

'Rumours'are irrelevant at this late stage, I can tell you what I posted re medical advise on a flu pandemic are not rumours, and whoever posted about ''saying nowt''...do you really think we will make any difference to a DEFRA decision already reccomended and moving through the various chanels on its way to the minister for signing?

[Guest]

Agree with all previous posts.

 

Seems to be something lacking in the 'why' of some communications lately. Why NHS are doing this right now, why a new license was issued right now .... might have helped people better understand the current position.

 

Think it stops misunderstandings and rumours starting.

 

Nice to know tho.  

 

[Roland]

Very True Allbear, whatever has been decided now, is going to be, with the exception if a more drastic stand has to be taken, say in light of further out breaks. It would have to be some machinary to get anything altered, and then time will be dragged out for Yonks.

[jimmy white]

albear would i be right in saying the warning that there could be a flu pandemic,,,,,,nothing to do with bird flu ,,,,we get this flu scare every winter   just get the flu jab  

[Guest]

Hear hear jimmy now the pigeon fancy have mutated it before any one else in the world its talk like this that does us the damage that the likes of Peter B has to try and deal with do some of us not want racing this year the mind boggles

[Guest]

No Jimmy, the operative word is pandemic as opposed to epidemic.........a global scale outbreak.......but as Roland says, unless something drastic happens, the decision has all but been made, it's just being rubberstamped and checked for any loopholes, or misinterpretation before Peter Bryant gets word.......... but when the NHS and local authorities are gearing up then the risk analysis (which may be completely wrong!) has obviously worried them far more than last year, when there were not as far as I am aware warnings about gearing up for large scale sickness amongst staff.

[Guest]

That's cobblers Frank, at one stage last year, after the decision was made, I practically carried out a one man campaign to get it reversed on here and on other sites to get the ban lifted...and then I had people telling me they weren't bothered and I was wasting my time. Funny but I seem to remember it getting lifted but that was because the RPRA furnished DEFRA with all the details they required this time last year if I remember correctly.........

[Guest]

Could this not be another big money making sceam rember its big bucks we are talking for the big drug suppliers they must be loveing this sometime think they fuiel the fire

[Guest]

Frank, the big bucks is with Chickens not pigeons when it comes to this. We are such a money spinner drug companies are falling over themselves to licence products............now whatever happened to Emtryl???

[Guest]

If we go through life worring about things that might happen then we wont have time to worry about the things that have happened and why worry at all we cant do much about it any way we dont count much much bigger cats than us with money behind them

[Guest]

Albear i just think we dont help our selfs be thowing petrol on the fire let the likes of Peter fight the case for us he done a great job last year with very little time to prepare at least he has had time to deal with it this  and what will be will be fingers crossed

[Guest]

Again, wandering into and crossing over two (for the moment) entirely seperate and different subjects.

 

(1) Pandemic: you are talking about human flu outbreak on a global scale, millions of human casualties in a few months, and the current preparedness at world level for the next one, they occur in roughly 30-year cycles, last one was in 1967?

 

(2) epizootic or endemic avian influenza, avian flu, bird flu, has caused around 200 human deaths between 1997 - 2006, but generally deadly to poultry species only, currently at bush-fire levels Africa & SE Asia and one outbreak in Europe. Pigeon Racing subject to license because of this, and only most virulent forms of this disease, known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and virulent strains usually begin with H5 and H7. The best known are H5N1 and H7N7.

 

 

[jimmy white]

yes a pandemic[ as i said] of flu would be a terrible thing ,,,,but nowt to do with pigeons

               TODAY IS THE TOMORROW, YOU WORRIED ABOUT YESTERDAY

[Guest]

Jimmy you reckon if there's a pandemic, there'll be no effect on pigeons??? So we'll be flying, Tarbes, Bourges, Palamos etc regardless????????? Or Wakefield, Wanstead, Eastbourne, Sebnnen Cove????

[Roland]

That's cobblers Frank, at one stage last year, after the decision was made, I practically carried out a one man campaign to get it reversed on here and on other sites to get the ban lifted...and then I had people telling me they weren't bothered and I was wasting my time. Funny but I seem to remember it getting lifted but that was because the RPRA furnished DEFRA with all the details they required this time last year if I remember correctly.........

 

Yes I was also following Allbears lead. I was in contact with 8 MP's and around 10 Euro MP's. Don't you know what, - and regardless how Allbear, Me and a few others asked, and urged others to do the same - they biggest thing that came back was 'No one Else in their constituency had bothered to even send an Email, letter or any correspondence at all'! They theme to me was that yes... but I was outside of their constituency'. Further we had an ex Fancier who is a Euro MP offering to take up our cause.... Result Zilch, no one but I contacted him. He was very disappointed.... but no MP Euro or otherwise is going to bother a jot about us if we can't even get of a fat a**e and even write / post a leter!

Just look at all the MP's and concern that can't do a jot, or matter a jiff that stand up and climb on the 'Band Wagon' Publicity, and Public awareness are the only two things they, and any one else is interested. They as sure as hell aren't going out of their way to be counted when we aren't even bothered. A losing battle, with no merit is far far away from theirs' or anyone else's interests.

 

 

[Guest]

Jimmy you reckon if there's a pandemic, there'll be no effect on pigeons??? So we'll be flying, Tarbes, Bourges, Palamos etc regardless????????? Or Wakefield, Wanstead, Eastbourne, Sebnnen Cove????

 

Totally out of context.

 

(1) Human Flu pandemics are cyclical and when they do occur, its only during the winter months. We don't race pigeons in winter.

 

(2) Part of the pandemic preparedness, about which I've repeatedly posted here, is how to keep industry  going during such a crisis when a great many people are likely to be off work ill with flu. One such area is the NHS and that is why front-line NHS staff are first in line for antivirals and flu jabs .. because you can't treat people with flu if the medical staff are off sick with flu too.

 

(3) And that preparedness applies across all the ordinary day-to-day processes like keeping shops supplied with food, maintaining a power supply to our homes etc etc.

 

Against that background, pigeon racing is an irrelevance in pandemic flu.

[Guest]

 

Yes I was also following Allbears lead. I was in contact with 8 MP's and around 10 Euro MP's. Don't you know what, - and regardless how Allbear, Me and a few others asked, and urged others to do the same - they biggest thing that came back was 'No one Else in their constituency had bothered to even send an Email, letter or any correspondence at all'! They theme to me was that yes... but I was outside of their constituency'. Further we had an ex Fancier who is a Euro MP offering to take up our cause.... Result Zilch, no one but I contacted him. He was very disappointed.... but no MP Euro or otherwise is going to bother a jot about us if we can't even get of a fat a**e and even write / post a leter!

Just look at all the MP's and concern that can't do a jot, or matter a jiff that stand up and climb on the 'Band Wagon' Publicity, and Public awareness are the only two things they, and any one else is interested. They as sure as hell aren't going out of their way to be counted when we aren't even bothered. A losing battle, with no merit is far far away from theirs' or anyone else's interests.

 

 

No disrespect. The threat avian flu posed to pigeon racing was reported to various Pigeon Unions by Pigeonbasics members way back in August 2005. The names of two people who had prevented the Canadian Government slaughtering racing pigeons during their 2004 AI outbreak were also passed on if the Unions needed help from them: Gordon Chalmers and Kevin Ball. The SHU contacted the Scottish Executive when slaughtering racing pigeons was found to be part of the UK AI Contingency Plan then newly published.. also in 2005. And in 2005 letters were already being sent by Pigeonbasics members to MPs and MSPs. And since then contact has continued not only with members of parliaments, but with some of the world's leading AI experts, particularly as regards how AI affects pigeons.

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Bruno 'pandemics are cyclical', are they?...........every how many years does a flu pandemic occur may I ask?? And every how many years does this particular strain of avain virus appear?

[Guest]

This is taken from the current World Health Organisation website. You will note that it is dated 14th October 2005 and the last paragraph states "The present situation is categorized as phase 3: a virus new to humans is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another". In 2005 the emerging position had been monitored for 8 years. Today, 30th January 2007, 10 years 'of virus evolution' later, the present situation is still categorized as phase 3:  

 

 

Ten things you need to know about pandemic influenza

 

14 October 2005

 

1. Pandemic influenza is different from avian influenza.

 

Avian influenza refers to a large group of different influenza viruses that primarily affect birds. On rare occasions, these bird viruses can infect other species, including pigs and humans. The vast majority of avian influenza viruses do not infect humans. An influenza pandemic happens when a new subtype emerges that has not previously circulated in humans.

 

For this reason, avian H5N1 is a strain with pandemic potential, since it might ultimately adapt into a strain that is contagious among humans. Once this adaptation occurs, it will no longer be a bird virus--it will be a human influenza virus. Influenza pandemics are caused by new influenza viruses that have adapted to humans.

 

2. Influenza pandemics are recurring events.

 

An influenza pandemic is a rare but recurrent event. Three pandemics occurred in the previous century: “Spanish influenza” in 1918, “Asian influenza” in 1957, and “Hong Kong influenza” in 1968. The 1918 pandemic killed an estimated 40–50 million people worldwide. That pandemic, which was exceptional, is considered one of the deadliest disease events in human history. Subsequent pandemics were much milder, with an estimated 2 million deaths in 1957 and 1 million deaths in 1968.

 

A pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges and starts spreading as easily as normal influenza – by coughing and sneezing. Because the virus is new, the human immune system will have no pre-existing immunity. This makes it likely that people who contract pandemic influenza will experience more serious disease than that caused by normal influenza.

 

3. The world may be on the brink of another pandemic.

 

Health experts have been monitoring a new and extremely severe influenza virus – the H5N1 strain – for almost eight years. The H5N1 strain first infected humans in Hong Kong in 1997, causing 18 cases, including six deaths. Since mid-2003, this virus has caused the largest and most severe outbreaks in poultry on record. In December 2003, infections in people exposed to sick birds were identified.

 

Since then, over 100 human cases have been laboratory confirmed in four Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Viet Nam), and more than half of these people have died. Most cases have occurred in previously healthy children and young adults. Fortunately, the virus does not jump easily from birds to humans or spread readily and sustainably among humans. Should H5N1 evolve to a form as contagious as normal influenza, a pandemic could begin.

 

4. All countries will be affected.

 

Once a fully contagious virus emerges, its global spread is considered inevitable. Countries might, through measures such as border closures and travel restrictions, delay arrival of the virus, but cannot stop it. The pandemics of the previous century encircled the globe in 6 to 9 months, even when most international travel was by ship. Given the speed and volume of international air travel today, the virus could spread more rapidly, possibly reaching all continents in less than 3 months.

 

5. Widespread illness will occur.

 

Because most people will have no immunity to the pandemic virus, infection and illness rates are expected to be higher than during seasonal epidemics of normal influenza. Current projections for the next pandemic estimate that a substantial percentage of the world’s population will require some form of medical care. Few countries have the staff, facilities, equipment, and hospital beds needed to cope with large numbers of people who suddenly fall ill.

 

6. Medical supplies will be inadequate.

 

Supplies of vaccines and antiviral drugs – the two most important medical interventions for reducing illness and deaths during a pandemic – will be inadequate in all countries at the start of a pandemic and for many months thereafter. Inadequate supplies of vaccines are of particular concern, as vaccines are considered the first line of defence for protecting populations. On present trends, many developing countries will have no access to vaccines throughout the duration of a pandemic.

 

7. Large numbers of deaths will occur.

 

Historically, the number of deaths during a pandemic has varied greatly. Death rates are largely determined by four factors: the number of people who become infected, the virulence of the virus, the underlying characteristics and vulnerability of affected populations, and the effectiveness of preventive measures. Accurate predictions of mortality cannot be made before the pandemic virus emerges and begins to spread. All estimates of the number of deaths are purely speculative.

 

WHO has used a relatively conservative estimate – from 2 million to 7.4 million deaths – because it provides a useful and plausible planning target. This estimate is based on the comparatively mild 1957 pandemic. Estimates based on a more virulent virus, closer to the one seen in 1918, have been made and are much higher. However, the 1918 pandemic was considered exceptional.

 

8. Economic and social disruption will be great.

 

High rates of illness and worker absenteeism are expected, and these will contribute to social and economic disruption. Past pandemics have spread globally in two and sometimes three waves. Not all parts of the world or of a single country are expected to be severely affected at the same time. Social and economic disruptions could be temporary, but may be amplified in today’s closely interrelated and interdependent systems of trade and commerce. Social disruption may be greatest when rates of absenteeism impair essential services, such as power, transportation, and communications.

 

9. Every country must be prepared.

 

WHO has issued a series of recommended strategic actions [pdf 113kb] for responding to the influenza pandemic threat. The actions are designed to provide different layers of defence that reflect the complexity of the evolving situation. Recommended actions are different for the present phase of pandemic alert, the emergence of a pandemic virus, and the declaration of a pandemic and its subsequent international spread.

 

10. WHO will alert the world when the pandemic threat increases.

 

WHO works closely with ministries of health and various public health organizations to support countries' surveillance of circulating influenza strains. A sensitive surveillance system that can detect emerging influenza strains is essential for the rapid detection of a pandemic virus.

 

Six distinct phases have been defined to facilitate pandemic preparedness planning, with roles defined for governments, industry, and WHO. The present situation is categorized as phase 3: a virus new to humans is causing infections, but does not spread easily from one person to another.

 

 

 

 

 

[Roland]

Bruno as you are aware I get a Email or two from Gordon most days. Was in Canada when it hit the fans etc. They actually put a hold on the Goverment as to further delving... same as now, it is a qua. Likewise the Import Export situation.

But Bruno things here HAPPENED. Gordon and a few others were in touch with some, and others like Allbear, and a few other I gave them email addies toactually get the parts they presented there!

  But here it was asked by some, for others to get behind the wheel. This was, and is a completely different aspect from what the Canadians did... and every other week here some one was posting like FrankDooman did etc. the point I was making that it is far too late now for that! That when it was possibly a hep facter hardly ANYONE did, and yet many others spouted what ohers should be doing or should have done. The fact I state is that 'Not many even bothered to type an Email! etc. etc. EVEN THOSE THAT suggested others too. A good MP said he would help in any way and which, still no one bothered. Was silly talk about challenging in the courts etc. Far too expensive and pie in the sky. But MP's etc. are always ready to jump on a wagon to service their own ends, they need to be in the loight and to be seen doin some one somewhere some good.

Frankly in this scenario I think Peter has done an excellent job. And like I posted I know several that he has been in touch with and every help that way was forthcoming. etc. etc.

[Guest]

Bruno as you are aware I get a Email or two from Gordon most days. Was in Canada when it hit the fans etc. They actually put a hold on the Goverment as to further delving... same as now, it is a qua. Likewise the Import Export situation.

But Bruno things here HAPPENED. Gordon and a few others were in touch with some, and others like Allbear, and a few other I gave them email addies toactually get the parts they presented there!

  But here it was asked by some, for others to get behind the wheel. This was, and is a completely different aspect from what the Canadians did... and every other week here some one was posting like FrankDooman did etc. the point I was making that it is far too late now for that! That when it was possibly a hep facter hardly ANYONE did, and yet many others spouted what ohers should be doing or should have done. The fact I state is that 'Not many even bothered to type an Email! etc. etc. EVEN THOSE THAT suggested others too. A good MP said he would help in any way and which, still no one bothered. Was silly talk about challenging in the courts etc. Far too expensive and pie in the sky. But MP's etc. are always ready to jump on a wagon to service their own ends, they need to be in the loight and to be seen doin some one somewhere some good.

Frankly in this scenario I think Peter has done an excellent job. And like I posted I know several that he has been in touch with and every help that way was forthcoming. etc. etc.

 

I have no quarrel with anyone's actions or non-actions. But if people are honest, the time for action was August 2005, before the proverbial hit the fan. Basically met with a shrug of the shoulders, its in SE Asia, it doesn't affect me, it doesn't affect pigeons. Then by November 2005 all the planned shows for 2005 had to be cancelled. And by 2006 it looked like no racing to some. By the time people woke up, the damage had been done. But 'wait & see' did change to 'lets get something done about this'. And most people did do something.

 

 

[Guest]

So are we not entilted to our oppinion Rolland and are you trying to get my posts cut out just because i think it should be handled by the officials of the combined unions who arein receipt of all the information and after all they are the ones who should be fighting our corner so why complain to Bruno (like FrankDooman) grow up!