The Government Want to Force You to
Register Your Pet Chicken...
None of This Adds Up!!!
The chicken Chap
May 2024
INTRODUCTION
So, the Government are trying to make you register you chickens…even if you only have a single hen.
The government held a consultation in which they asked participants to vote on three options, one of which was the governments preferred option.
This paper will review the consultation, the summary of responses and the government’s own response to the result. It will look at the current and recent past bird-flu statistics, then look at the governments mandate following the consultation.
THE CONSULTATION
Background to the consultation
The document states:
All poultry keepers in Great Britain are encouraged to record the fact that they keep poultry by registering their birds with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), but only a keeper with 50 or more poultry at any single premises is currently required by law to do so.
Poultry keepers with less than 50 birds are encouraged to voluntarily register their birds.
Purpose of this consultation
The purpose of this consultation was to seek views from the public on government’s proposals to require all keepers of poultry and other captive birds to register their birds.
The consultation consisted of three options:
baseline: do nothing – do not change the current poultry registration requirements
option 1: (government preferred option) extend the registration requirement to all bird keepers, including a mandatory annual update to the registration information
option 2: extend registration requirement to a keeper of 10 or more birds, including a mandatory annual update to the registration information
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES
The first thing to note is that the summary is packed full of irrelevant data that mean absolutely nothing to the result. From experience, when this is the case it’s normally there as a distraction from the main fact.
The only question that matters is question 11, where a single choice of one of three options is called for.
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So, 75% of the participants did not want any change to the status Quo and less than 12.5% were in favour of the governments preferred option. In total 86% were against the governments preferred option, opting for either “Do nothing or “Option 2”.
That’s a majority of almost 7 to 1 against the governments preferred option. Clearly a huge majority did not want what the government were proposing.
THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-help-protect-poultry-industry-from-bird-flu
Following the consultation, the government announced that their option, option 1 was going to be implemented…despite losing the vote by a whopping majority of almost 7 to 1.
Stating:
“The changes come following the UK’s worst ever outbreak of avian influenza, with more than 360 cases across Great Britain since late October 2021, including in a significant number of backyard flocks”.
But do the statistics support this statement…
BIRD FLU STATISTICS
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bird-flu-avian-influenza-latest-situation-in-england
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It goes on to say “The UK does not currently have outbreaks of HPAI in poultry or other captive birds”.
I’m informed that there are a grand total of 400 million birds in the UK. I haven’t personally researched this but it’s from a source that I am willing to take their word for it.
So, to give that some meaning…
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Just to put this in prospective, the government measures human influenza in weekly cases per 100,000 head of population. So, an average (week 18) of just 0.62 cases per week would equate to almost 2.7 cases each month per 100,000 which equates to 27 cases per one million head of population per month (at a time in the year of low infection).
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-report-published - Last updated 16 May 2024
Looking at this it’s hard to make a case for “the UK’s worst ever outbreak of avian influenza”
Even if the total number was 200 million captive birds - (chickens (broilers and layers), pigeons and game birds) - it would lead to the same conclusion.
We also have this announcement from the government
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-declares-freedom-from-bird-flu
“The UK has self-declared zonal freedom from highly pathogenic avian influenza for Great Britain with effect from 29 March 2024”.
SO, THE CURRENT SYSTEM MUST BE WORKING…and so you have to ask, what is the point of trying to force any change?
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THE GOVERNMENT MANDATE
So, does the government have a mandate to impose these changes?
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Firstly, let’s be clear, members of parliament and the house of lords are the servants of the people…it is not the other way around. They are not there to dictate to the people. They are there to carry out the will of the people…although the establishment will, by fair means or foul, try to persuade you otherwise.
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The government went to the people (by its own choosing) and held a consultation in which 75% were against any change. That is a huge majority of almost 6 to 1 in favour of no change.
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86% were against the government’s preferred option…almost a 7 to 1 majority against
Therefore, it’s abundantly clear that the government simply does not have a mandate to impose any change against the will of the people.
So how do the government intend to force compliance?
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-help-protect-poultry-industry-from-bird-flu
“The requirements will be set out in legislation”
…for those of you that are not already aware, legislation requires consent to be given the force of law. From the result of the consultation, it is clear there is NO consent.
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/03/chicken-keepers-must-register-to-beat-bird-flu/
Owners who fail to register their birds face a maximum fine of £5,000 or six months in prison, although penalties depend on an assessment of harm caused…
”although penalties depend on an assessment of harm caused”…What does that mean? If you don’t register and there is no harm, then there is no penalty?
And how exactly will they be able to proved that harm has been caused? But more to the point…by whom exactly?
CONCLUSIONS
It’s really difficult to understand why the government want to change the status quo, because;
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The statistics clearly show that bird-flu is not a problem
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The government has gone on record stating that the UK is bird-flu free…and so the current system is clearly working.
What is more, the government went to the people with their proposal (the consultation) and the people overwhelmingly rejected it and therefore they have no mandate.
But still, they want to force their change!
“The requirements will be set out in legislation”. But based on what authority:
THEY HAVE NO MANDATE!!!-THERE IS NO CONSENT!!!
It’s difficult to envisage how the government can enforce this without a mandate, let alone find the manpower to police this across the whole of the UK.
The people have spoken and the government has ignored them.
So, you have to ask, what is the agenda here? It’s clear that the poultry industry does not need protecting from the small and insignificant back yard chicken keeper.
My question to the government is this…just what is this really about?
