444 days ago

Avian Flu - the risk.

Gordon from Halswell

I used to work for a very large local poultry company, we delivered day-old chicks to Canterbury contract farms for them to grow the birds until they were the correct size to be collected and taken to the processing plant. Biosecurity, on these farms where usually intense, and clothing footwear masks, wheel spray at the gate, etc were compulsory.
The sheds/barns were audited for cleanliness and ensure pest control measures were in place. Perfect.
One day, along came FREE RANGE chicken. If you are thinking how do we keep the same biosecurity control over chickens that run in and out of the sheds/barns and can bring in all the bugs that overalls, masks and boots were stopping? If you weren't thinking that, let's take Avian Flu as the obvious example of why perhaps you should.

On any one farm, some sheds might be free-range while the others only metres away, still had to follow the original biosecurity procedures, as they were shed/barn raised.
I aired my concern and was told, it was best not to push it too hard. TUT TUT
If people want to eat FREE RANGE chicken, there is a risk that the whole poultry industry might suffer.

More messages from your neighbours
1 day ago

🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?

Do you think you know the answer?

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3 days ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.

Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.

For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.

Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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19 hours ago

Poll: Canterbury is thriving on paper... but are you seeing evidence of Canterbury's improving economy?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

As reported in the Press, Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman recently gave a shout-out to our region, calling Canterbury a "stand-out" for how we recover from tough times. With tech firms growing and exporters investing, the business side of things is looking bright!

👉 But we know that "business growth" doesn't always mean the weekly shop gets any cheaper. While the city expands, many families feel like they’re just trying to keep their heads above water.

We want to know: With the business buzz of 2026, do you feel like things are finally looking up for your household, or does it still feel like a climb?

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Canterbury is thriving on paper... but are you seeing evidence of Canterbury's improving economy?
  • 19.5% Yes
    19.5% Complete
  • 58.5% No
    58.5% Complete
  • 22% In some areas ...
    22% Complete
41 votes