Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.usaid.gov/press/frontlines/fl_apr10/p09_avian100420.html
Film Helps Save Birds from Avian Flu in Ukraine
FrontLines - April 2010
Although avian influenza (AI) has disappeared from the headlines, it remains a very real threat in Crimea, Ukraine, a poultry production region at the crossroads of bird migratory routes.
To motivate poultry farmers and others to use safe poultry handling practices, USAID and other groups carried out a public awareness campaign to prevent the spread of AI.
In 2009, Fauna, an NGO working on ecological issues, produced a short film and TV program to raise awareness of AI among the rural residents of Dzhankoy district, an area at high risk for outbreaks.
The film showed how the residents of the village of Zavet-Leninsky dealt with AI outbreaks during 2006. It demonstrated how to build wire coops to protect domestic birds from contact with wild birds and how to separate poultry from other animals to minimize the risk of AI infection.
The film featured local expert Mykola Arsievych, director of the Naturalist and Environmental Protection Center, who described how his team preserved the center?s exotic birds during the outbreak.
?By sticking to biosafety rules and practices, not a single bird perished in our park during the avian influenza outbreak in 2006,? Arsievych said in the film interview.
In the film, Mykola Betyn, head of the Zavet-Leninsky village council, also recalled the 2006 situation.
?We were really frightened then. And though there have not been any cases registered for the last few years, we continue to remind residents about AI risks,? Betyn said.
The film and TV program were broadcast by a local television channel, reaching as many as 30,000 residents of Dzhankoy district. The film was shown to 15,000 children in 52 village schools before the autumn bird migration.
Valentina Pyshkina, a teacher from Dzhankoy, described the potential impact of the film.
?Our school children are extremely active. In the past, they participated in a youth team competition on AI prevention. I?m sure that after watching the film they will remind their parents and neighbors about AI and its risks,? Pyshkina said.
Fauna worked with veterinary and emergency services specialists and USAID partner International Relief & Development to produce the film.
Lyudmila Yatsishina, the head of the Dzhankoy district veterinary department, said the film was ?very timely indeed, as avian influenza is a real threat and it exists all the time.? ?Every year, more and more households are turning to safe poultry handling practices.?
Film Helps Save Birds from Avian Flu in Ukraine
FrontLines - April 2010
Although avian influenza (AI) has disappeared from the headlines, it remains a very real threat in Crimea, Ukraine, a poultry production region at the crossroads of bird migratory routes.
To motivate poultry farmers and others to use safe poultry handling practices, USAID and other groups carried out a public awareness campaign to prevent the spread of AI.
In 2009, Fauna, an NGO working on ecological issues, produced a short film and TV program to raise awareness of AI among the rural residents of Dzhankoy district, an area at high risk for outbreaks.
The film showed how the residents of the village of Zavet-Leninsky dealt with AI outbreaks during 2006. It demonstrated how to build wire coops to protect domestic birds from contact with wild birds and how to separate poultry from other animals to minimize the risk of AI infection.
The film featured local expert Mykola Arsievych, director of the Naturalist and Environmental Protection Center, who described how his team preserved the center?s exotic birds during the outbreak.
?By sticking to biosafety rules and practices, not a single bird perished in our park during the avian influenza outbreak in 2006,? Arsievych said in the film interview.
In the film, Mykola Betyn, head of the Zavet-Leninsky village council, also recalled the 2006 situation.
?We were really frightened then. And though there have not been any cases registered for the last few years, we continue to remind residents about AI risks,? Betyn said.
The film and TV program were broadcast by a local television channel, reaching as many as 30,000 residents of Dzhankoy district. The film was shown to 15,000 children in 52 village schools before the autumn bird migration.
Valentina Pyshkina, a teacher from Dzhankoy, described the potential impact of the film.
?Our school children are extremely active. In the past, they participated in a youth team competition on AI prevention. I?m sure that after watching the film they will remind their parents and neighbors about AI and its risks,? Pyshkina said.
Fauna worked with veterinary and emergency services specialists and USAID partner International Relief & Development to produce the film.
Lyudmila Yatsishina, the head of the Dzhankoy district veterinary department, said the film was ?very timely indeed, as avian influenza is a real threat and it exists all the time.? ?Every year, more and more households are turning to safe poultry handling practices.?