chief vet's plan

[mata hari]

Did anyone else see the Chief Vet. on the news a few days ago, I thought they said she was off to rehearse the crisis plan if bird flu arrived in the UK. This was before the first dead swan was found! Was it my imagination, co-incidence, or a secret rehearsal ?? I thought it was odd how the first bird was suddenly found after that news item anyway!

[undercovers]

well if it was meant to be a secret rehearsal it wasn't very well kept was it seeing as they invited all the media people to watch. the practise was meant to take place over several days, the dead sea gull in scotland was found on the first practise day so the rest of the rehearsal was cancelled and they started their plans for real.

[mata hari]

Oh really ?I think that strange "co-incidence" only adds to my argument!

[Peahead66]

Hi, I saw it. Just answered in the other post on bird flu. Nobody else I know heard about it though.

[brachiopod]

Err... it's your imagination.

The rehearsal was no big secret and had been planned.

Bird 'flu would inevitably arrive here, whether it was last week, next week, or the day the contingency plan rehearsal began.

It's called a coincidence. These things happen.

There was no 'big secret'.

There is no conspiracy.

There is no cover-up.

What exactly is your 'argument' that the co-incidence 'only adds to' ???

[mata hari]

alright brachiopod, 'argument' and 'secret', were stupid words to use ,

but I didn't say 'cover-up' or 'conspiracy', and I still say it's a very strange co-incidence!

[brachiopod]

Sorry,mata hari, didn't mean to imply that you did say 'conspiracy' etc.

But looking at it fairly objectively, Bird 'Flu has been spreading westwards at a steady rate for many months. With cases in eastern France a month ago, then western France a week or two later, it was inevitable that it would appear on these shores within, probably, a two week window centred say, around yesterday.

That would mean that if a rehearsal was scheduled because of the imminent threat, there would be a 1 in 14 chance that it would coincide with the UK's first reported case. Looking at it that way, I don't see anything remarkable about the coincidence, certainly not any subterfuge, that's for sure.

If the body was discovered a day earlier (I understand that the bird had been dead a little while), would nothing have been said?
Or would we then be going "isn't it funny how that rehearsal started exactly one day after that dead bird was found...."

[mata hari]

No I expect we (I) would be saying "budgies going cheep"!!

so....

OK, I stand crushed under your might, and will keep my suspisions to myself in future,

bye bye

[brachiopod]

I wasn't having a go, mata hari, in that it wasn't maent to be a rant-mode post ! I was just trying to explain the way I saw it and my reasoning behind it. The fact that one way or another, it was going to hit our shores very soon anyway was why I didn't see anything suspicious.

Anyway, I'll be swanning off myself soon (back 'home' to Swansea) for the weekend. And I'm off Monday. (Yay!! 3 day week next week !!)
Have a good weekend all !!

[mata hari]

Enjoy yourself in Swansea, cariad fach!

(We lived around Aberystwyth for nearly 18 years)

Now we live in France so- Bon Paques!