No new intensive animal farms should be approved in the UK, according to researchers who analyzed the potential risks of influenza outbreaks.
Researchers at the University of Winchester and Griffith University investigated disease risks at UK farms in a recent paper. Based on their findings, they “strongly discourage” granting any future planning applications for industrialized intensive animal farms.
In the UK, more than 80 percent of farmed animals spend their lives on intensive farms, according to World Animal Protection.
“There is exceptionally strong evidence for a link between low animal welfare levels and high zoonotic risks,” the researchers wrote. Disease risk increases because of factors like “animal crowding, low genetic diversity, compromised hygiene, and high animal stress levels which compromise immune systems.”
Influenza risk of intensive animal farming
Diseases passed to humans from animals make up 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases.
Keeping…
