Poultry Science: Agro/Bio-security
Section III. Physical Security for Farms
Drs. Brian D. Fairchild and Dan L. Cunningham
Department of poultry Science,
The University of Georgia
The Need for Security
The need for physically protecting our farms is greater than it has ever been. The
terrorist’s acts of September 11, 2001 by foreign enemies and the discovery of sections of Al
Qaeda’s training manual devoted to agricultural terrorism clearly demonstrate a desire to cause
harm and destruction to our society. In addition, the knowledge that individuals, or groups of
individuals
such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF), within
our own country, willing to use violence and destruction to further their own cause against
animal production makes the need for vigilance even more imperative.
Unfortunately, poultry production operations are vulnerable because of
their size, geographical concentration, and the general ease of
accessability. For example in 2002 there was a series of farms in
Kentucky where the ventilation fans were turned off by an individual and approximately 75,000
birds were killed due to heat exhaustion with losses estimated at $60,000. Threats to farm
security can come from many sources, thus, producers must guard against the intentional
destruction or contamination of their flocks. Although an impenetrable wall can not be built
around our farms, there are steps that can be taken to improve the physical security of our farms.
Threats to Biosecurity. According to the American Feed Industry Association Guide to Biosecurity Awareness (www.afia.org), animals and feed may be adulterated by the following means:
- Biological (bacteria, viruses, toxins, parasites, etc.)
- Chemical (classical chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals, such as pesticides, rodenticides, and heavy metals)
- Radiological (agents that can be delivered in liquid or solid form)
- Physical (e.g. metals, glass and plastic)
Acts of terrorism have heightened our awareness of the need for increased personal, livestock and farm facilities security. The unauthorized access to a farm’s flocks, chemicals, water supplies, feed and equipment represents an important security risk to poultry farms. It is imperative for farm owners and operators to take responsibility for the protection of their flocks and facilities as well as the safety of themselves, their family members and employees.