The Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities (SPPA) is a U.S. based organization whose mandate is to perpetuate and improve rare breeds of poultry, bantams, ducks, geese and turkeys. The reason why such an organization is needed today makes an interesting story.

It has been said that in history there would have been no culture without agriculture. But as our civilization has become more complex, agriculture as both horticulture and livestock keeping has changed greatly. Our growing global population has made poultry increasingly important due to both their high reproductive potential and relatively rapid product time to market. Modern poultry husbandry is characterized by intensive large scale operations with extensive control of the fowl’s environment. This “industrial” agriculture puts a high premium on uniformity that has led to a decrease in the genetic variability of poultry types. As a result modern poultry stocks are close to being monotypic, making it difficult to adapt to changing conditions and, due to their crowding and controlled conditions, vulnerable to pathogens. This situation, according to the SPPA, makes a pressing case for the preservation of genetic diversity in poultry.

The SPPA seeks to maintain poultry breeds that were found on the diversified farms of traditional agriculture. Examples are dual purpose breeds such as Reds, Rocks, Wyandottes, Sussex and Orpingtons, early Asiatic meat types such as Cochins and Brahmas, Mediterranean egg types such as Leghorns, Anconas and Minorcas and historic breeds such as Dominiques, Houdans, Faverolles. Other breeds not raised specifically for food, such as games and ornamentals, are also promoted by SPPA as an important part of the diversified genetic pool. All of these breeds are characterized as hardy and self- reliant with a strong ability to reproduce naturally but are considered non-productive because they mature slowly and do poorly in crowded conditions.

The SPPA believes we cannot leave the important task of poultry conservation to commercial operations or governments, who often have other conflicting priorities, so the responsibility falls by default on fanciers to maintain these traditional, historic, game and ornamental types

It seems the world loves a good conspiracy theory. The popularity and success of The Da Vinci Code as a book and movie is an excellent example. So I guess it was only time before a conspiracy theory would develop about avian influenza. The following article about avian influenza and Tamiflu, the antivirus currently being stockpiled in huge quantities by most developed countries including Canada, was written by a doctor and is currently circulating over the Internet. Since conspiracy theories are a combination of fact and conjecture I should state that this article does not represent the beliefs or opinion of the Vancouver Poultry & Fancy Pigeon Association or any of its directors and appears here solely for the information and/or amusement of VP & FPA club members.

Avian influenza (“bird flu”) was discovered in Vietnam 9 years ago. Under normal conditions avian influenza affects birds only. In the 9 years since its discovery the bird flu has spread and infected birds throughout the world and just over 100 people have died from it. The world is now under threat that the avian influenza virus will mutate and result in a global human pandemic.

It was the Americans who alerted the world to the efficacy of the human antiviral Tamiflu as an avian influenza medicine. The U.S. President, George Bush and his friends, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney decided that Tamiflu is the solution to the pandemic that has not yet occurred, despite the facts that Tamiflu barely alleviates some symptoms of the common cold and that its efficacy against the common flu is questioned by a very large part of the scientific community. The governments of the entire world are threatened by a “possible” pandemic and are buying industrial quantities of Tamiflu from Roche Laboratories.

Roche Laboratories owns 90% of the global production of crushed aniseed on which the antivirus Tamiflu is based and in 1996 acquired the marketing rights to Tamiflu from Gilead Sciences Inc.. The President of Gilead Sciences Inc. at the time the marketing rights were sold to Roche was Donald Rumsfeld and he currently remains a major shareholder. Sales of Tamiflu were $254 million in 2004 and $1000 million in 2005. Roche Laboratories and Gilead Sciences will continue to earn many more millions if the business of “bird flu” fear and panic continues.

So we end up paying for medicine while Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush continue to spread pandemic fear in order to do their business... along with their other big one...oil.