Judging by the typical reactions of governments and health organizations around the world, one would think that the bird flu crisis has been caused primarily by small flocks of chickens kept in the backyards of families in developing nations.

Backyard and rooftop poultry farms have been restricted or outright banned in at least 15 countries. The prime minister of Egypt announced, “The time has come to get rid of the idea of breeding chickens on the roofs of houses.” And a high-ranking official with the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) declared, “The fight against bird flu must be waged in the backyard of the world‚ poor.”

Backyard flocks throughout Asia, and increasingly in Africa and the Middle East, are being “culled”, destroyed, at a dramatic rate, and in many cases their owners are being inadequately compensated or not at all.

These swift measures are not justified by the facts. The reality of the crisis is that just as much, or perhaps more, is unknown about the spread of Type A avian influenza than what is known.

Read more

• Read our backgrounder.
• Read our letter to ABC about their movie “Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America”