Simulation exercise: Culling of poultry procedure in Singapore

Dr Siang Thai Chew, Director General and Chief Veterinary Officer of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore, informed the OIE that his country is conducting a field trial during the week of 7 July 2014 on the use of an anoxia method for the culling of poultry in the event of a disease outbreak.

The field trial would evaluate the use of nitrogen gas filled high expansion foam for in situ culling of poultry in a multi-tier closed house layer system. This method was selected for the following reasons:

• It has been shown to improve animal welfare during the inevitable process of culling for disease control purposes.
• There is reduced contact between operators and live birds, lowering potential risk of human exposure and infection.
• This method is more efficient, allowing the rapid stamping out and eradication of diseases.

Dr Siang Thai Chew stated that Singapore is free from all OIE notifiable avian influenza and that this is only a field trial to develop capability and capacity for response to animal disease outbreaks.