Re: Zero avian 'flu risk from wild birds


"Malcolm" <Malcolm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0w24c8EItgUEFwuM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In article <1146219308.34801.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, BAC
<casswalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes

To simplify,
(1) I do not agree there is 'zero risk' of a person contracting avian
flu
from infected birds, hence my initial involvement in John's thread, which
claimed (tongue in cheek, as it happens) that the risk was zero. The risk
may be, and almost certainly is, very small indeed, but it is not 'zero'.
The distinction is perhaps similar to that between 'impossible' and
'extremely improbable' over which we disagreed some years ago.

So we did.

(2) It follows from (1) that I am unable to disagree categorically
with
Angus's opinion that there might be a risk of contracting avian flu from
an
infected bird and hence, if a person wished to avoid that risk, he might
decide to avoid locations where he believed he might encounter infected
birds.

OK, you may not disagree with Angus's opinion, and certainly if a person
decides they want to avoid certain locations, that's fine. But that is
not what Angus is doing. He already avoids bird reserves, though for
other reasons. He is deliberately setting out to try and persuade people
not to visit bird reserves and equally deliberately not mentioning the
many other places where, unlike at bird reserves, people and wild
migrants actually do come into physical contact. Surely you would agree
that if someone had genuine concern for the well-being of his fellow
humans and wanted to prevent them becoming infected, he would advise
visiting any locations with wild migrants, and especially town parks
where people feed the birds by hand and can hardly avoid treading in
their droppings? Angus's failure to do that demonstrates that there is
nothing genuine about his advice, merely his anti-conservation agenda at
work, leading him to make these dishonest statements.

As should be clear from my other postings on this matter, IMO, if a person
were so concerned about the possibility of encountering concentrations of
migratory waterfowl that he thought it advisable to avoid one particular
location where he thought they may be encountered, it would be illogical for
him not to also avoid locations which he thought might be equally
'contaminated'.

I suspect you may well be right as to Angus's motives in picking out nature
reserves for a mention in this newsgroup. As I've said elsewhere, the
'debate' between Angus and MK (in particular) and yourself on this group
generally consists of attempts to score points and 'wind up' the opposition,
and if that were his objective he certainly seems to have hit the mark.

Nevertheless, I doubt whether anyone reading the thread would conclude
reserves were any more risky to visit than other locations.


(3) I accept that people are going to react differently to the
'scare',
just as there have been different reactions, say, to the BSE situation,
or
to the threat from non-indigenous species, and I believe (rational and
non-confrontational) discussion of people's reactions and opinions is one
way of helping us all get them into perspective. Perhaps you should have
more faith in people's commonsense?


I have plenty of faith in people's commonsense! What I don't care for is
the blatant dishonesty of what Angus is saying.


Given the history, I can well understand the sceptical perspective from
which you view Angus's activities and remarks.


.

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