Are free range hens likely to spread bird flu?
The potential spread of Avian Influenza is unlikely to be reduced by locking up our chooks. The reality is that any threat to the Australian public is more likely to arrive with people traveling from overseas than from migratory birds or from domestic hens. Access of wild birds to free range hens is seen as a risk by some in the industry but wild birds like sparrows and swallows have access to even the most modern poultry sheds. Many cage farms were built over 40 years ago and birds fly in anytime they feel like it!
