Logging on to the blogsite, I notice that Dr Adrian and I are the lonesome duo....we will try to post some articles so that the webmaster do not consign us to kingdom come..
Was reading the list of notifiable diseases in NZ for poultry...includes Duck virus enteritis or duck plague, Duck viral hepatitis, NDV, and IBD. This country is so clean no wonder the poultry breeder companis keep the GPS stock here, and sell the PS to Asia. This includes the Ross broilers breed used in many of the local integrators in Sarawak. Aviagen, for example, has a Quarantine Farm in Roturua ( the famous scenic, volcanic and Maori homelands).The farm is responsible for the qarantine of imported stock , complying with MAF requirements, and breeder DOC are sent to domestic, Asia and other markets.
The interesting thing I found is that ducks are not farmed in any commercial scale, but you can get Peking or roasted ducks in the Chinese restaurants in town. During autumn as is the season now, the Department of Conservation ( something like NREB/DOE/Forest back home) allows duck hunting to keep the wild population down. Game ducks such as the green mallard ducks are plentiful, especially in waterbodies such as the lakes in the parks, recreation areas. You are allowed to hunt in specific areas only, but the total numbers you can bag per person is 10 heads this season. Normally it is 8 heads, but this year there was a duckling boom...
Duck hunting is prohibited in normal times...which reminds me of a joke. There was a Austin mini car parked next to a lake, late into the night. The park warden walked over, thinking the car has stalled, and saw a Chinese man in the car bent over a hole in the back seat. He was putting crumbs of bread into the hole. "You orright,mate?" he said. The CM smiled, and held up a bag with 5 heads of ducks that have walked under the Mini and been ducknapped. " Me have Peking duck for dinner, mister!" replied the CM. Just goes to show that the Mini car has more uses than just carrying us from A to D... : )
BTW, roasted duck costs NZ 30-40 depending on the style of cooking.
Better stick to fish and chips at $4.00 a bag..
Take k, all.
TW