WPSA Newsletter

Newsletter Editor: Dr G.B. Havenstein
gerald_havenstein@ncsu.edu

World's Poultry Congress 2008

WPSA Travel Grant Programme
It is generally agreed that enhancing the educational, research and experience opportunities of young poultry science professional and technical people is critical to the pace of development of more efficient poultry production, regardless of whether they are part of an intensive technological industry or they are involved in small-scale, family production systems.......... Read more

Message from President Rüveyde Akbay
As the year comes to a close it was very encouraging to witness the continuous array of activities that our branches organised over the last year. Most of these activities such as working groups meetings and other specific meetings organised by our branches are excellent opportunities that help to create a sense of togetherness. The strength of our association is reflected in the number of branches and members. Our association currently has 76 branches and more than 7300 members........... Read more

Message from the Secretary
The Secretary visited India and Thailand in November 2007. India is doing very well in poultry. The poultry meat consumption doubled in less than 10 years and also egg consumption is increasing from year to year. The Poultry Show in New Delhi where WPSA had a booth was a great success. In Thailand (Bangkok) the FAO had organised a conference about poultry in the 21st century. The FAO specialists discussed the various ways of keeping poultry and its problems with people from the industry. Trends and impacts, risks and challenges for poultry production and poultry as a development tool were discussed. Especially small scale and backyard got extra attention. The meeting was very successful. Many of the papers presented will be published in the World’s Poultry Science Journal.

Report from the Treasurer
The financial records of the Association were reviewed in September 2007. The WPSA Board appointed Dr. Michele Hall (Clemson University) and Dr. Douglas Korver (University of Alberta, Edmonton) to conduct the review. They went over the 2006 books in detail and reported to President Akbay that all the materials were in proper order............ Read more

Asian Pacific Federation
APPC 2007 Bangkok: A very successful Asian Pacific Poultry Congress was held in Bangkok in March 2007. Over 800 delegates from all over the world attended. The conference was held over two days with many high quality papers and research reports presented. Delegates were also able to attend VIV Asia, which was held in Bangkok immediately following APPC............ Read more

European Federation
A proposal from the French Branch to hold the 13th European Poultry Congress Tours, France was accepted at the meeting of the EF Council in Verona. Dr Nys indicated that the French Branch was working to attract sponsors and would be contacting the EF Working Groups for ideas on the scientific programme. A website will be set up in the near future, and a presentation will be made at the World Poultry Congress in Brisbane to publicize the event............ Read more

European Union Research Opportunities for members of the WPSA's European Federation
During the next four years (2006-2010) the President of the European Federation, Prof Achille Franchini, would like to promote the access of the European Federation’s research groups to the financial opportunities offered by the European Commission within the seventh framework (FP7) that runs from 2007 through 2013................ Read more

Formation of a New WPSA Branch in Singapore
Back in 1995, technicians of the American Soybean Association, Rhone Poulenc and Roche formed an informal networking group for the purpose of socializing and technical exchange. Although several technical seminars were held with foreign speakers, the group was never associated into a registered organization as required by the Singapore Government. As such it was not continued................. Read more

Formation of WPSA-Togo

The weakness in the poultry industry in Togo is its lack of scientific information. With the intention on improving this aspect, Prof. M. Gbeassor, the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Dr K. Tona, lecturer / researcher at University of Lome suggested setting up a branch of WPSA. Moreover, the University of Lomé expects to play a leading role on behalf of the whole West African Region in poultry industry developments and expects to join the Working Group on reproduction and incubation. Further, it hopes to establish permanent links with other leading poultry research centres all over the world, working in the field of poultry and animal production which may have wider applications.................. Read more

World's Poultry Science Journal (WPSJ)

Placement of the Proceedings from the World's Poultry Congresses and other WPSA Symposia on the internet
The National Agricultural Library in Washington, D.C., USA, is working on the digitization of the Proceedings of all of the World's Poultry Congresses. So far they have published the proceedings from the 1^st eleven World Poultry Congresses. You can find them on the website of the NAL under the Table of Contents.
Starting in 2002, WPSA formulated a policy by which WPSA and the World’s Poultry Science Journal (WPSJ) would benefit most from the outcomes of the WPSA sponsored symposia and conferences. Briefly, the following is the result of those discussions, and this procedure is now in force. The symposia and conference organisers can make their own arrangements for publishing proceedings for the registered delegates - presumably a book of abstracts and a CD-Rom of the full papers. WPSJ has the first option to publish any symposium papers that are suitable for the journal, i.e. reviews................... Read more

WPSA Branch News

Argentina Brazil Canada

Germany Greece Malaysia

Poland Romania South Africa

Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand

Turkey

WPSA Sponsored and other poultry related Symposia and Conferences

The 23rd World’s Poultry Congress Brisbane Australia from 30 June to 4th July 2008, is now only 6 months away! Put these dates in your diary! The registration brochure is now available on the website www.wpc2008.com. It has also been printed and we are in the process of mailing it out to all people on the database. Early bird registration is available until 29 February 2008. Preparations are well under way for a most successful meeting incorporating an excellent scientific and technical programme, the largest poultry trade display yet seen in Australia, and an exciting social programme.

In the morning sessions before morning tea, plenary speakers will provide overviews on a wide range of issues of critical importance to the poultry industry in the foreseeable future. The inclusion of the three additional meetings (poultry health (6 APPHC), ratite (4IRSS) and poultry producer (PIX)) within the framework of the Congress, means that there will be up to ten concurrent symposia sessions, which will ensure that there will always be something of interest for delegates to attend. A draft programme showing the invited symposia session speakers is now available on the website. The large majority of these are finalized, but there will be some changes between now and July.

We have received over 1300 abstracts for presentation at the Congress and the editorial committee is presently engaged in reviewing abstracts and assigning papers for oral presentation in the concurrent symposia sessions, or as posters. For those who have submitted abstracts, the full papers will be required to be submitted by 31 January 2008.

In keeping with past WPSA practice of support for young poultry scientists and students, the Congress Organising Committee have included a Youth Programme which is open to application from students and young people with interests in poultry science and technology. Applications for the Youth Programme will remain open until 31 December 2007. Application forms and other details are available on the Congress website www.wpc2008.com.

As mentioned previously, the venue for the Congress, the award winning Brisbane Conference and Exhibition Centre, is located close to the centre of Brisbane and a wide variety of hotels and other accommodation, and a short walk to the Queensland Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Queensland Performing Arts Complex. It’s also only a stroll away from South Bank, the site of World Expo 88, with its gardens and bougainvillea-lined walkways along the Brisbane river, as well as numerous restaurants and a swimming lagoon with a white sandy beach; a wonderful place to relax. The Congress welcome reception will take place here. The Congress technical sessions and the trade exhibition are co-located close together under the one roof, which makes moving from one to the other very easy.

For partners and delegates, an exciting social programme has been organized, with day-trips which include a river cruise, and visits to the Crocodile Hunter’s Australia Zoo, a rain forest resort, a koala and kangaroo sanctuary, a winery and the Sunshine Coast beaches; and evening activities which include the welcome reception on the Monday evening, an Australian “Outback Spectacular” show on the Tuesday evening, alternative river cruise or mountain top dining on the Wednesday evening and finally, the Congress Dinner on the Thursday evening. Descriptions of these are available in the registration brochure.

The timing of the Congress has been intentionally set for the northern hemisphere summer break to facilitate attendance by European, North American and Asian academics. Whilst it will then be early winter in Brisbane, being sub-tropical, the daily temperature normally ranges from a mild 12 to 23OC. For pre- or post-Congress touring, this is an excellent time to visit the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Queensland or the “Red Centre” of Australia. Bring the family and either come early or stay on to make the most of your Australian adventure.

On behalf of the Congress Organising Committee it’s my very great pleasure to invite you to join us “down under” in Brisbane from 30 June to 4 July 2008.

Bob Pym, Chair WPC2008

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Three major Scholarship Awards are available to members of the World's Poultry Science Association from a trust fund that was set up by the Netherlands Branch of WPSA. They are presented at each of the World Poultry Congresses in three categories - Education, Organization and Research - which coincide with the wording on the WPSA logo. Recipients of the three Scholarships are chosen by an internationally representative committee, and the committee’s selections are based on the following.

Research Award: The WPSA Research Award is presented to an outstanding scientist in recognition of research achievement related to the poultry industry. Individuals who have been members of the World's Poultry Science Association for at least two years immediately preceding the Congress at which the award is to be made are eligible. The award consists of a suitably inscribed certificate or plaque and € 11,000 (currently about US $13,000).

Education Award: The WPSA Education Award is presented at each World's Poultry Congress to an individual or group of individuals who, has/have made a major contribution to poultry management education in a five year period immediately preceding the current World's Poultry Congress. Nominees, or leaders of groups in the case of joint nominations, must have been members of the World's Poultry Science Association for at least two years immediately preceding the Congress at which the award is made. The award will consists of a suitably inscribed certificate or plaque and € 11,000.

Industry/Organization Award: The WPSA Industry/Organization Award is presented to an individual or organization who/which has made an outstanding contribution to the development and/or success of the poultry industry in a five-year period immediately preceding a World's Poultry Congress. The development of trade organizations, promotional or information programmes, or the invention of new processes or products relevant to the poultry industry will form the basis of the award. Nominees (or leaders of nominated organizations) must have been members of the World's Poultry Science Association for at least two years immediately preceding the Congress at which the award is made. The award consists of a suitably inscribed certificate or plaque and € 11,000.

See the WPSA Website (http://www.wpsa.com) for details concerning nomination procedures for these Awards.

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As was mentioned in the May and September, 2007 Newsletters, a letter has been forwarded to all Branch Secretaries calling for the nomination of individuals for the IPHF who will be inducted during the XXIII Congress in Brisbane, Australia. All Branches of WPSA may nominate an individual for consideration for this honour (Branches with over 100 members can nominate 2 individuals). No more than 5 individuals, living or deceased, will be inducted at any one Congress, and those honoured will receive a citation, a plaque, and their citation and photograph will be published in the WPSJ. Please contact your Branch Secretary, if you have someone whom you want to nominate. Details concerning the nomination and selection process are available on the WPSA website. Nominations are due before January 1, 2008. Completed nominations must be sent to the WPSA Secretary, Piet Simons.

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Four initial bids have been received and accepted by the WPSA Executive Committee for the hosting of the XXV World’s Poultry Congress that will be held in mid-2016. The four branches involved, i.e. the United Kingdom, Spain, China and Singapore, must submit their formal bids to the WPSA Secretary by December 31, 2007. The President, Secretary and one of the members of the WPSA Board will be conducting site visits during February and March, 2008.

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In December WPSA Branch Secretaries will be receiving a request for a list of official Branch delegates (Councillors) to the XXIII World Congress. Those delegates will be officially recognized as the voting representatives for their Branch, and will be expected to participate in a brief training session, and in the WPSA Council Meeting that will be held during the Brisbane Congress. They will be asked to cast ballots on behalf of the Branch for the election of five WPSA Vice Presidents who will serve during the period of 2008-2012, on any business items that are brought before the Council, and on the location of the 2016 World Congress.

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WPSA has a programme to provide travel assistance for young WPSA members and students to participate in regional and global WPSA Conferences

It is generally agreed that enhancing the educational, research and experience opportunities of young poultry science professional and technical people is critical to the pace of development of more efficient poultry production, regardless of whether they are part of an intensive technological industry or they are involved in small-scale, family production systems. It is stressed that any travel assistance that WPSA does provide, however, must be independent of and in addition to that currently provided by World's Poultry Congresses, Regional Conferences or individual Branches. That is, the travel assistance will target and benefit additional STUDENTS and YOUNG MEMBERS (both scientists and poultry producers) from developing countries and STUDENTS from developed countries. A scheme of open competition for such WPSA Travel Scholarships is now available, and information about the programme can be found on the WPSA website, i.e. www.wpsa.com. Application forms are available on the website.

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Dear friends,

As the year comes to a close it was very encouraging to witness the continuous array of activities that our branches organised over the last year. Most of these activities such as working groups meetings and other specific meetings organised by our branches are excellent opportunities that help to create a sense of togetherness. The strength of our association is reflected in the number of branches and members. Our association currently has 76 branches and more than 7300 members.

This newsletter will serve as a good bridge that will connect our members from all around the world. It is also a good opportunity to exchange ideas among ourselves. We would like to see more news activities from the branches in our newsletter. To make WPSA even better we rely on your contributions and input.

Even though the WPSA has a strong presence in some parts of the world, like Europe, in other areas the number of branches is insufficient. It is our fervent wish that this discrepancy will be reduced in the near future and we would like to see more branches join this very effective network.

I want to wish all of the members a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and please accept my best wishes for great success in your future endeavours in science as well as in your personal life.

Rüveyde Akbay

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The financial records of the Association were reviewed in September 2007. The WPSA Board appointed Dr. Michele Hall (Clemson University) and Dr. Douglas Korver (University of Alberta, Edmonton) to conduct the review. They went over the 2006 books in detail and reported to President Akbay that all the materials were in proper order.

The Association continues to do well in terms of its finances. By keeping a balanced portfolio of investments and taking a conservative approach, the Association is able to weather market downturns. My thanks to all our sponsors and advertisers for their prompt payments and to all the Branch Secretaries for the efficient performance of their duties.

With the support of the Board, I continue my work with the National Agricultural Library to maintain the archives of our Association. I have just completed arrangements with a private company to digitize the remaining World Poultry Congress Proceedings (XII-XX) and the entire collection of the International Review of Poultry Science (predecessor to the World's Poultry Science Journal).

Francine A. Bradley, Treasurer

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APPC 2007 Bangkok: A very successful Asian Pacific Poultry Congress was held in Bangkok in March 2007. Over 800 delegates from all over the world attended. The conference was held over two days with many high quality papers and research reports presented. Delegates were also able to attend VIV Asia, which was held in Bangkok immediately following APPC.

Small Scale Family Poultry Workshop: Running as a part of the APPC in Bangkok in March, a full day seminar on small-scale family poultry farming was held. This was a very important meeting of people interested in this field. After presentations and reports from developing countries, a full discussion was had on priorities for development of small-scale family poultry farming poultry.

General Meeting Asian Pacific Federation: This meeting was also held during the 8th APPC in Bangkok. Mr Alan Gibbins from New Zealand was re-elected as President for a further four-year term. Dr Bao-Ji Chen from Taiwan was elected Senior Vice President and Dr Desianto Budi Utomo from Indonesia was elected Junior Vice President. The secretary of the Federation is Mr Don Thomas from New Zealand. Bids to host the next APPC, the 9th were received from two branches, Indonesia and Taiwan. In a very close vote the right to host the next APPC went to Taiwan. The conference will be held in 2010.

New Branch Opens in Singapore: During the year a new branch was opened in Singapore. The inaugural Secretary is Mrs D Tan. Mrs Tan can be contacted by her e-mail daphnetan@noblegrain.com. Welcome to the family of branches throughout the world and it is hoped that in due course the Singapore branch will also join the Asian Pacific Federation.

Vietnam Branch joins Asian Pacific Federation: In March this year the President Mr Alan Gibbins travelled to Vietnam to join with the branch there to mark the occasion of the Vietnam branch becoming a member of the Asian Pacific Federation. Two separate ceremonies were held, one in Ho Chi Minh City and the other in Hanoi where Mr Gibbins welcomed the branch into the Federation.

President visits Taiwan: The President was invited to attend a Taiwan Branch Poultry Seminar on 1 December. Also in attendance was the Secretary WPSA, Dr Piet Simons and Mrs Simons. Both Mr Gibbins and Dr Simons were impressed with the very well organised seminar and the enthusiasm of the Taiwan branch. The branch was congratulated for winning the right to host the next APPC.

WPC 08 Brisbane: Since this Congress is being held in the Asian Pacific Region, all Federation members are encouraged to attend. The Brisbane congress will be a great opportunity to catch up with leading science from around the world as well as meeting old friends and making new ones in what will be a very friendly and relaxing environment. Keep an eye on the congress website for information updates.

Further Information: For further information please contact the Secretary, Mr Don Thomas (D.V.Thomas@ massey.ac.nz) or the President, Mr Alan Gibbins (avianag@infogen.net.nz).

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A proposal from the French Branch to hold the 13th European Poultry Congress Tours, France was accepted at the meeting of the EF Council in Verona. Dr Nys indicated that the French Branch was working to attract sponsors and would be contacting the EF Working Groups for ideas on the scientific programme. A website will be set up in the near future, and a presentation will be made at the World Poultry Congress in Brisbane to publicize the event.

Reports Working Groups

Working Group 2: 16th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition
The end of August saw Strasbourg play host to poultry nutritionists from around the world at the biannual European meeting (August 26-30). This event is always a prime showcase for the latest in poultry nutrition work. Attendance was strong and varied, with delegates from the Americas, Asia, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand attending this international event. As always, the conference was characterised by its strong emphasis on interactivity between speakers and delegates, with everyone being assigned to a specific discussion group following each session. This strategy allows good feedback on the papers, and also highlights areas of enquiry for the scientists present. The topics covered were extensive and varied, as expected for what has become a very important meeting in the poultry nutrition calendar. Many established and new companies involved in producing feed-related products were represented in the trade stands upstairs. A strong and diverse poster session provided a focus at coffee times.

The setting was the main convention centre in Strasbourg., The city itself is charming, with many superb hotels and restaurants, as well as good shopping and tourist activities for accompanying guests. The old centre with its magnificent cathedral provided a lovely backdrop to evening and external events and gave delegates the opportunity to enjoy exploring the history and development of this grand old city. The organisers provided interesting and informative entertainment for attendees, including a boat trip on the river, which was a highlight for many.

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Working Group 3:Breeding and Genetics
The 5th European Poultry Genetics Symposium, hosted by the Danish Branch, took place at the Pejsegaarden in Brædstrup, Denmark, on September 26-28, 2007. It was organized by Poul Sørensen, Sanna Steenfeldt and Thorkil Ambrosen from the Danish Branch of WPSA, and by Steffen Weigend (Germany, chair of WG3), Paul Hocking (UK) and Gerard Albers (NL). Sixty participants from 16 countries attended the meeting, and about 25% of the attendees came from commercial breeding companies. The programme included three scientific sessions with nine invited speakers, a poster session with short oral presentation of 19 posters, and a breeders’ session.

The first scientific session was dedicated to “Molecular markers and their use in future breeding.” The breakthrough two years ago by publishing the complete chicken sequence and identification of more than 2.8 million Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) provided the background for the discussion on how to utilize these knowledge in future poultry breeding.

The second session was dedicated to genetic approaches to overcome negative impact of “Biotic and a-biotic stresses in poultry.” The session dealt with heat stress and low oxygen on the one hand, and the impact of diseases on the other hand. It has been discussed how immunology can contribute to poultry breeding by using new molecular tools to genetically improve resistance to invading pathogens. Furthermore, although powerful molecular tools are available, our understanding of how genes are regulated leading to a certain phenotype is still limited.

The third session was dedicated to “Genetic selection, welfare and social interaction.” The focus of this session was on genetics of welfare related traits like feather pecking and cannibalism. Studies on long-term selected lines for feather pecking demonstrates some molecular markers derived from the brain as key factors, but it is still unclear if group selection is a better way to obtain birds suited for large flocks of hens. Birds will always interact with their pen mates, and an algorithm was presented that takes social interaction into account in breeding value estimation for behavioural traits such as feather pecking

The breeder’s workshop was devoted to views and visions of breeding companies towards the use of the genomics’ advances in poultry breeding. Overall, company representatives expressed confidence that the new techniques provide powerful tools in poultry breeding, and indicated that they have been starting to use molecular genetics to improve monogenic traits. At the same time, caution was expressed in the use genomic methods to genetically select more complex traits not only because of cost, but since the traditional quantitative genetic had done so well for many years without exhausting the genetic variation.

Participants were invited to present a poster on a specific topic 1) Conservation and genetic diversity of poultry; 2) Use of QTL as tool in breeding; or; 3) How to tackle new traits or characteristics by means of the broader genetic tools available today.

Overall, the symposium provided an excellent source of information and knowledge for anyone involved in poultry breeding and genetics, and stimulated intensive discussion during the session and beyond. The 6th European Poultry Genetics Symposium is scheduled to take place in Poznan, Poland ultimo September 2009.

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Working Group 4: Egg Quality
Twenty five members of Working Group 4 met on September 4, 2007 during the XII European Symposium on The Quality of Eggs and Egg Products, Prague, Czech Republic. The meeting was hosted by the Chair, Dr Yves Nys, INRA, France, and it was primarily directed at preplanning for the XIII Symposium that is scheduled to be held in Turku, Finland, on June 21-25, 2009.

The attendees were encouraged to think of new members for WG4 so that more countries are represented. Dr. Nys indicated that by increasing the network that the WG would be better placed to address or influence the direction of future calls within the European Union framework 7 programme.

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During the next four years (2006-2010) the President of the European Federation, Prof Achille Franchini, would like to promote the access of the European Federation’s research groups to the financial opportunities offered by the European Commission within the seventh framework (FP7) that runs from 2007 through 2013.

The first call for proposals regarding theme 2 named "Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology" is now available, and Prof Franchini invites all members of the European Federation to look at calls of interest but also to possible consortia that might be set up around each call to present successful projects. The call for proposals are frequently based on stakeholder research needs disseminated through the documents of the European Technology Platforms (ETPs). Therefore, the chairpersons of the Working Groups of the EF should be aware of the poultry-linked ETPs, Global Animal Health (GAH), Farm Animal Breeding and Reproduction (FABRE) and Food for Life.

Another important set of instruments that are needed for participating in the activities of the European Commission are the COST (Co-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) Actions documents (www.cost.esf.org). Their main goal is to put EU researchers working in the same research field in touch. In the past very successful poultry related COST actions have been COST 920 "Foodborne zoonosis: a co-ordinated food chain approach", COST Action 923 "Hightech Egg Research", COST Action 97 "Prevention of contamination of poultry meat, eggs and egg products". Proposals for new COST Actions might be discussed during the next symposia.

The European Commission promotes the exchange of researchers through the Marie Curie programmes and the members of the EF can apply for these programmes. As an alternative, the EF might built its own database in which to include offers to host scientists as well as requests to visit specific poultry research centers.

For more information on these programmes and how to apply, please look under research opportunities for the European Federation that are located on the WPSA website (http://www.wpsa.com).

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Back in 1995, technicians of the American Soybean Association, Rhone Poulenc and Roche formed an informal networking group for the purpose of socializing and technical exchange. Although several technical seminars were held with foreign speakers, the group was never associated into a registered organization as required by the Singapore Government. As such it was not continued.

The idea recently resurfaced and gained tremendous support from local Singapore representatives of feed and commodity companies. These companies include global players such as Charoen Pokphand, Biomin, Romer Labs, Novus International, Degussa, Adisseo, Impextraco, ASA-IM, Kemin, Noble Grain, eFeedLink, ADM, AB Vista, Zagro, Danisco, AgeD’or, Sumitomo, Bentoli, INVE and others.

Asia is the fastest growing global market for poultry and animal feed, agricultural commodities, additives and the services that goes with it. Singapore, which houses many of the head offices of companies supplying the Asian poultry and feed industry, is also gaining recognition as a global centre of excellence in biotechnology with various applications in food and agriculture.

In January 2007, several industry representatives were contacted by the Singapore Suntec Convention Center to inquire about bidding for the World's Poultry Congress to be held in 2016, with the support of the Singapore Tourism Board. This then became a catalyst for the formation of the World's Poultry Science Association in Singapore.

Dr. Chin Sou Fei of Charoen Pokphand stepped up to assume the role of president, spearheading the task of forming the association and getting it registered by the Singapore Registry of Societies. Together with the association's elected vice president, Dr. Robert Swick of the American Soybean Association in Singapore and Treasurer, Mr. MY Tan of AB Vista, a membership recruitment drive for WPSA Singapore Branch began, and was opened to interested parties working in relevant businesses based in Singapore.

The registration of WPSA Singapore Branch was approved on February 14, 2007. On April 27 2007, a general meeting was held, new members were recruited and programmes for technical seminar series and social events for 2008 were planned. The new WPSA Singapore Branch represents an outstanding opportunity for the animal feed, poultry, food, biotechnology and commodity related industries in Singapore and the region.

The weakness in the poultry industry in Togo is its lack of scientific information. With the intention on improving this aspect, Prof. M. Gbeassor, the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Dr K. Tona, lecturer / researcher at University of Lome suggested setting up a branch of WPSA. Moreover, the University of Lomé expects to play a leading role on behalf of the whole West African Region in poultry industry developments and expects to join the Working Group on reproduction and incubation. Further, it hopes to establish permanent links with other leading poultry research centres all over the world, working in the field of poultry and animal production which may have wider applications.

Dr Tona was asked to contact those involved in the poultry industry in Togo for information. These include organizations, services, researchers, poultry farmers, feed millers, feed component distributors and national government organisations. This stage of information lasted for almost five months. Before and during the same period we had some contacts with Dr P. Simons via Prof. Decuypere of “Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. From these contacts we obtained information about a setting up of WPSA local branch. It is important to note that the assistance of Prof. Decuypere was and still is highly beneficial for us. We owe him a debt of gratitude. After having enough information and contacts, a Constitutive Assembly was called. This assembly took place the 23rd march 2007 at University of Lome. Thirty-one people attended the meeting. During this meeting the branch constitution, adapted from the model, was adopted. The following officers were elected:

President: Prof. Messanvi Gbeassor
Vice President: Ir. Kokou Kouami
Secretary: Dr. Ir. Kokou Tona
Treasurer: Ir. Dorothé Gaglo

All the participants of the assembly were pleased with the outcome and enthusiastic that the poultry industry in Togo will have a new start and will be in touch with the rest of the world. As result, most of those who attended the meeting joined the local branch as a member. Until now, we have 35 members and we are expecting others. The formation of the new Togolese Branch is in the process of being formally recognised by the World’s Poultry Science Association

Dr Kokou Tona Secretary

As members may know, they now have the choice to receive the on-line version of the World's Poultry Science Journal instead of the printed one. The on-line version is fully searchable with many advanced features that will appeal to active scientists. To receive a password that provides access, members must register with the WPSA office. This can be done on the home page of the Association website www.wpsa.com.

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The digital archive for the World’s Poultry Science journal provides access from the first issue in 1945 until 2003 online - a total of 240 issues!

Volumes 1 - 59 of World's Poultry Science Journal are now available on Cambridge Journals Online. The archive is fully searchable by keyword and author; abstracts can be saved and emailed, full text articles printed and bibliographic details exported into reference management software. Perpetual Access is available for a one-off fee of just £500/$995*.

For further information, or to purchase the WPSJ Digital Archive, please email jnlsales@cambridge.org.

*For those who do not subscribe to the current volume, there is an additional annual maintenance fee of £45/$85, payable from the second year of the deal. www.journals.cambridge.org/WPS.

The Digital Archive is primarily designed for University libraries, companies etc. (not for individual WPSA members, unless they are willing to pay the subscription price!). Individual members located at universities or companies, if their library or company has subscribed, may access it through their organization. .

The National Agricultural Library in Washington, D.C., USA, is working on the digitization of the Proceedings of all of the World's Poultry Congresses. So far they have published the proceedings from the 1^st eleven World Poultry Congresses. You can find them on the website of the NAL under the Table of Contents.

Starting in 2002, WPSA formulated a policy by which WPSA and the World’s Poultry Science Journal (WPSJ) would benefit most from the outcomes of the WPSA sponsored symposia and conferences. Briefly, the following is the result of those discussions, and this procedure is now in force. The symposia and conference organisers can make their own arrangements for publishing proceedings for the registered delegates - presumably a book of abstracts and a CD-Rom of the full papers. WPSJ has the first option to publish any symposium papers that are suitable for the journal, i.e. reviews.

CABI will index the papers in the CAB Abstracts database and will also archive them in the CABI Repository, as well as put them on to AnimalScience.com This way the world's scientists will be able to search and find the papers. Also they will be available in the CAB archive which is linked to the CAB Abstracts Database. This way they will be in the world's body of scientific literature. They will be available for WPSA members via the WPSA website, under Proceedings (www.wpsa.com).

CABI is currently working on the European Poultry Congress 2006 Proceedings.

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WPSA Branch News

Argentina Branch: During the last year the Argentinean branch was pleased to collaborate in the organization of the 7th Annual Meeting of Poultry Veterinary Association (AMEVEA). This scientific meeting was held on September 6-8, 2006 at Colon city, Entre Rios Province. It was attended by more than 350 producers, students and professionals, representing one of the most important events for the Argentinean poultry community.
WPSA provided an expert speaker to give one of the 16 presentations for the meeting. Dr. Jean Pierre Vaillancourt talked about strategies they have developed in Canada to control a possible outbreak of avian influenza. He was supported by the “WPSA Speakers Bureau” programme.
Since Peter Hunton (Former President of the WPSA) began to visit Argentina (Year 2000) to work together with the new local Council of the Argentinean Branch, membership in the branch has increased from 27 to 85 individuals (314%). We hope this first meeting where our Branch has been involved will be the beginning of an active participation by WPSA in local poultry meetings to increase even further the number of local members.

Marcelo J. Schang, President; Julian E. Melo, Treasurer

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Brazil Branch: The Brazilian branch currently has a total of 262 members among poultry industry professionals and entrepreneurs. That makes WPSA-Brazil the fifth largest member of the WPSA family around the world (76 country branches with over 7000 members in total). WPSA_Brazil is maintained and administered by its mother entity FACTA (Apinco Foundation of Poultry Science and Technology – www.facta.org.br).
WPSA_Brazil has been very active at its main objective of advancing scientific knowledge and improving the understanding of all aspects of poultry production. Its activities have played a key role in the technical and scientific development of the Brazilian poultry industry which is currently the third largest producer and the first exporter industry around the world.
More than 10 comprehensive scientific books have been published during last 7 years. Among them, are some of the most comprehensive poultry publications in a language other than English. They are: Management of Artificial Incubation (2^nd edition 2003 – 537 pages), Diseases of Poultry (1^st edition 2000 – 507 pages; 2^nd edition to be published in May 2008); Broiler Breeder Management (2^nd edition 2005 – 421 pages); and Broiler Production (1^st edition 2004 – 356 pages). Most of these books will be translated into Spanish for a better acceptance throughout Latin America.
The leading publication of WPSA_Brazil is its Brazilian Poultry Science Journal (BPSJ). It is published quarterly along with an annual supplement issue published in May at the time of the WPSA_Brazil annual meeting. The BPSJ conveys relevant poultry research information from every area of the poultry industry which is presented in about 50 peer reviewed papers every year. The journal is published in English and is indexed by CAB International and Scielo (Brazilian Electronic Library – www.scielo.br/rbca).
In 2007 WPSA_Brazil organized another very successful edition of its annual main scientific event, the 25^th Apinco Conference (29-31 May 2007). The Apinco conference is the most comprehensive scientific event held each year in Latin America. The 2007 edition had over 1000 attendees, with the largest number being professionals from the poultry industry and universities (mostly, field veterinarians, university professors, nutritionists, companies’ technicians and research scientists).
One entire day was dedicated to oral presentations of research communications from universities from throughout the country. Papers were divided in areas of nutrition, production, poultry medicine and other areas (processing, environment, genetics, etc…). Twelve pre-selected papers were presented orally in each area and all of the others (over 240) were presented as posters.
As for the main conference a total 40 presentations were made covering the following areas à artificial incubation (specific symposium was organized), poultry medicine, biosecurity, processing, geo-positioning (GPS) as national biosecurity tool, nutrition and industrial partners presentations.
WPSA_Brazil was also involved, in 2007, in the XX Poultry Latin American Congress (25-28 September 2007, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil), as a service provider for the organizing committee. The entire area of scientific activities of that congress was organized of WPSA_Brazil. More than a 2000 participants attended the scientific programme which was a huge success and very well graded by attendees from 43 different countries.
The 24^th World Poultry Congress (WPC) will be held in Brazil in 2012 in the city of Salvador, state of Bahia, northeast of Brazil. Many organizational duties have already been started and soon the congress will have its own internet site for free access by those interested. A leading group of the organizing committee will be present at the 23^rd WPC to be held next year in Brisbane, Australia, when details of the 24^th WPC will be presented as well as sales of industrial stands will commence.

Luiz Sesti, Executive Secretary

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Canada Branch: The Canadian Branch considers that in addition to providing a connection to the World body, it has a primary function of connecting our members over a distance of more than 7,000 km. The Poultry Science Association fills many of the scientific functions taken on by other national WPSA Branches and Federations, and we often hold our annual general membership (AGM) meeting in the USA in conjunction with PSA meetings. This year in a bid to resolve our problem of distance and enter the modern age, on August 15 we used the video network of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and linked eight sites across the country for our AGM. While a new experience for most of us, the experiment worked well enough to do again if the need arises. Most of our meeting dealt with preparations for the World's Poultry Congress in Brisbane, to which we hope to send a large contingent.

Fred Silversides, President

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Germany Branch: Thanks to intensified efforts to keep membership up, the German branch currently has 351 members. The branches primary activities during 2007 included the annual meeting that was held in Berlin, the hosting of Symposia for Working Groups 10 and 12 in Berlin, and an excursion to the Baltic States around the 15th Baltic and Finnish Poultry Conference that was held in Riga in October.
At the March annual meeting it was decided to encourage members to register for the World Poultry Congress in Brisbane by offering travel grants, especially for young scientists with accepted contributions. The 4th International Symposium on Turkey Production in late June (WG10) and the 3rd Combined Workshop on Fundamental Physiology and Perinatal Development in Poultry (WG12) met in in early October and were well attended and highly successful. Short reports will appear in the WPSJ.
The tour of the Baltic States was organized with help from the three other WPSA branches. The 22 German participants booked their own flight connections to Vilnius, returning from Tallinn, and buses were hired from Vilnius to Riga and from Riga to Tallinn to minimize travel cost and to allow flexibility for sightseeing and visits of poultry institutes and operations between the three capitals of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
The next annual meeting of the German Branch will be held in March 2008 in Halle/Saale. The scientific programme will cover a wide range of topics, including poultry nutrition in response to increasing bio-energy production and recent developments in poultry health.

Greece Branch: The Greek Branch of WPSA along with the help of international Board of WPSA will conduct the 1st Mediterranean Summit of WPSA on Advances and Challenges in Poultry Science, in Chalkidiki, Greece (Porto Carras Grand Resort) from Wednesday 7th of May to Sunday 10th of May 2008. Prof. A. Tserveni-Goussi, the secretary of the Greek Branch, is the Chair of the Organizing Committee, and Prof. A. Yannakopoulos, the President of Branch, is serving as the Chair of the Scientific Committee.
This WPSA Summit is the first of its kind to be held in Greece, and it is aimed at addressing the latest developments in research and technology including emerging diseases, food hygiene, animal welfare, novel products and sustainable development. The programme will cover different topics of high importance for animal scientists, veterinarians and industry executives. Key technical issues will also be widely discussed.
The Greek Branch was founded around 1960 and this SUMMIT is the first meeting to be organized by the branch. Chalkidiki is a wonderful place close to Thessaloniki. The programme should be useful on poultry producers in the Mediterranean countries and in other parts of Europe. The second announcement and registration are out, and all of the information can be found on the summit’s website: www.mcps2008.gr.

Prof. A. L.Yannakopoulos, President, and Prof. A. Tserveni-Goussi, Secretary

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Malaysia Branch: Membership in the Malaysian Branch of WPSA has increased to 29 as of September, 2007. The branch sponsored a satellite WPSA Seminar on August 5, with 10 different poultry speakers. It also put out a press release on the Nutritious Egg Programme for schools, asking that it replace the current milk programme for which the milk is often contaminated.

Teo Kim Lai, Secretary

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Poland Branch: The Polish Branch sponsored the 19th International Poultry Symposium in the Conference Centre of the University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland, on September 10-12, 2007. The symposium was organized by the University’s Department of Poultry Science of the Faculty of Animal Bioengineering, and was chaired by Prof. Jan Jankowski. Approximately 180 researchers and practitioners from Poland, including guests from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and the USA, attended. The organizers were pleased to welcome a large group representing poultry companies. The participants presented 90 research papers and posters containing the latest findings from poultry studies.
Keynote papers for the different sections of the symposium included: “Critical points and errors made during experiments on poultry.” by Prof D. Jamroz; “Molecular genetics in a modern poultry breeding organization.” by J.E. Fulton (USA); “Optimising feeding concepts for heavy turkeys,” by Prof. A Lemme; and “Biomedical and nutraceutical application of eggs” by Prof. T. Trziszka.
In keeping with the tradition of previous Polish Branch Symposia, the Jerzy Będkowski Award was given to the best papers presented by participants born after September 1, 1975. Only papers in English were eligible for the award. Distinctions were awarded and Honorary Memberships of the Polish Branch of the WPSA were presented to Prof. Bohdana Kraszewska-Domańska and Prof. Ewa Świerczewska.
A visit to the Poultry Teaching and Research Laboratory belonging to the Department of Poultry Science of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Bałdy, constructed and equipped from European Union funds, attracted much attention. This fully modern laboratory, equipped with Big Dutchman technology, serves the Poultry Department’s students and staff.

Katarzyna Cywa-Benko, Secretary

Romania Branch: In November, 2006, the Romanian Branch organized and hosted the 6^th edition of its “New Technologies in the Poultry Industry Symposium,” as well as the 7^th “Romanian Poultry Industry Show.” Over 300 producers, students and experts participated in these two important events for personnel associated with the Romanian poultry industry.
This year the Romanian Branch organized the 8^th Edition of the “Romanian Poultry Show” that was held on November 7-11, 2007. In addition, the Romanian Branch and the Romanian Poultry Producers Association have continued to work together to publish the scientifically based quarterly magazine “Avicultorul.” Avicultorul is produced in the Romanian language, and it has been published for the past 13 years. Members of WPSA’s Romanian Branch also take part in a number of national and international workshops on topics that are important for poultry production.

Ana Maria Covasa, Secretary

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South Africa Branch: The 26^th Scientific Day organized by the South African Branch was held at the CSIR conference centre in Pretoria, and over 150 people attended the meeting. Most of the speakers this year were from outside of South Africa, which gave the event an interesting international flavour. The first speakers, Ken Laughlin, Otto van Tuijl and Marleen Boerjan addressed a common theme, namely, problems and solutions to the fertility and hatchability problems associated with the latest strains of commercial layers (with their very strong shells) and broilers (with their rapid growth rate). Two speakers, Nicky Tyler and Rob Gous gave the latest information about the control of sexual maturity and subsequent fertility (both male and female) in broiler breeders, after which Yael Noy presented the latest developments in early- and in ovo feeding of broilers. Dr Paul Iji then discussed how broiler production could continue without the use of antibiotic growth promoters. Two students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal concluded the programme, Masefo Mokoma discussing the successful use of exogenous enzymes in improving performance of broilers on feeds containing wheat and barley, and Raife Danisman presenting evidence to suggest that conformation of broilers has been altered only very slightly, if at all, by selection, and that observed differences in breast meat yield between strains are likely to be the result of the birds having been harvested and compared at different degrees of maturity, or because of differences in the amount of lipid that has been deposited in the tissues due to the way in which the birds have been fed.

Rob Gous, President

Sri Lanka Branch: The Sri Lankan Branch hosted the International Poultry Conference & Exhibition 2007 on October 23-27 at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC), Colombo. This meeting provided a time for world-wide poultry companies and renown poultry scientists to meet in a friendly atmosphere for the interchange of cutting edge technologies, and to provide new knowledge to the poultry industry in Sri Lanka.
During the past three decades the poultry sector in Sri Lanka recorded a phenomenal growth. Therefore, the Sri Lankan WPSA decided to organize an International Conference and an Exhibition in Sri Lanka and accelerate the influx of cutting edge poultry technologies for the expansion of the industry. The Branch received very positive responses from both foreign and local poultry companies for sponsoring and participating in this event.

Dr H. P. Premasiri, President; Dr. Vipula Dharmawardena, Secretary

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Taiwan Branch: The Taiwan Branch held its Annual meeting on Dec. 1, 2007 in Chiayi, Taiwan. This meeting attracted more than one hundred members from universities, research institutes, governments and animal and feed related industries in Taiwan. Dr. Piet Simons (General Secretary, WPSA) spoke on “Commercial egg and poultry meat production and consumption and trade worldwide”, and Mr. Alan Gibbins, President of Asian Pacific Federation, presented a talk on “The effect of feed price on the poultry industry.” Two other speakers from the Taiwan poultry industry also shared their experiences.
In order to encourage young scientists to present their research data, the Taiwan branch will award travel grants to those making presentations at the Brisbane World Poultry Congress who have been members of the Taiwan Branch since at least 2007.
The 9th Asian Pacific Poultry Conference will be held in Taiwan in 2010. Further details will be announced in 2008. We welcome all of you to come to Taiwan and join this meeting at that time.

Prof. Ming-Ju Chen, Secretary, Taiwan Branch

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Thailand Branch: The International Conference on “Poultry in the 21st Century”, organized by FAO, was held in the Amari Watergate Hotel & Spa in Bangkok, Thailand, from 5th to 7th November 2007. The event was attended by around 90 participants from 26 countries, who were representatives of a broad range of senior managers from the public, private and non-government sectors who have an interest in all aspects of poultry production. The objective of the Conference was to review the global poultry sector in its entirety, to assess past development, the current situation and development ‘hot spots’, and to explore scenarios for its future.
The Conference was officially opened by Mr. He Changchui, the FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, after delivering his welcome address to the participants. Afterwards, the scene for the Conference was set by Dr Anni McLeod (FAO Senior Livestock Policy Officer). The 3-day Conference was divided into three main sessions with invited speakers. Each main session was accompanied by plenary discussions.
The first day was devoted to ‘Sector Trends and Impacts’ (Session I), which was chaired by Dr Samuel Jutzi (Director, FAO Animal Production and Health Division). The following five main papers were presented: Global poultry sector trends and external drivers for structural change (Clare Narrod), Assessment of inter-country differences in structural changes and expected trends (Martin Upton), Future trends and developments in poultry nutrition (Stephen Chadd), and Future trends for poultry genetic resources (Badi Besbes, Michelle Tixier-Boichard, Irene Hoffmann, G.L. Jain). The main papers were complemented with four short presentations: Perspectives of the global markets for poultry products (Dave Harlan), Challenges for global feed industries (Andreas Kocher), Feed production inducing structural change in the poultry sector (Jan Hinrichs), and Social impacts of structural change (Anni McLeod). These presentations were followed by podium discussions.
During the second day, the participants addressed the ‘Risks and Challenges for Poultry Production’. This Session included three main presentations: Risks associated with poultry production systems (Les Sims), Poultry production and the environment – a review (Pierre Gerber and Carolyn Opio), and Long-term impacts of HPAI on poultry production system (Jan Slingenbergh). In addition, the following seven small papers were presented: OIE standards related to trade and poultry diseases (Christianne Bruschke), Animal welfare in poultry production systems: impact of EU standards on world trade (Peter van Horne), Health and socioeconomic impacts of contract poultry growing for rural communities: a review of the US experience (Jessica Tuchman), Response of the Thai poultry industry to HPAI (Anan Sirimongkolkasem), The importance of poultry products in human nutrition (Simon Mack, William Clay, Jenni Kiilholma), Risks caused by bioaerosols of poultry houses (Jörg Hartung), and Veterinary services for poultry production (Karin Schwabenbauer).. The second day ended up with round table discussions. Participants were divided into two groups; one group discussed Large-scale poultry production (moderated by Nancy Morgan) and the second group tackled issues relating to Small-scale poultry production (moderated by Antonio Rota).
The third day of the Conference was devoted to ‘Poultry as a Development Tool’, and it included three main papers: Poultry production for livelihoods and poverty alleviation (Frands Dolberg), Poultry production as a tool for general development initiatives (E. Babafunso Sonaiya), and Opportunities of small commercial poultry producers in the future (Vinod Ahuja and Arindam Sen). The series of presentations continued with four small papers: Experiences in transferring and adopting the BRAC model for the development of small poultry producers to other countries (Dewan Zahid Hossain), Impact of chicken development projects for small scale producers in Thailand (Kreingkrai Choprakarn), Formal and informal contract farming in poultry in Bangladesh (Mohammad A. Jabbar), and Getting the private poultry sector involved in the development for Africa (Flavio Oliveira). The Conference ended up with a Summary Statement made by Dr Samuel Jutzi.
At the end of the Conference, the FAO Reporting Officer E. Fallou Guèye, Intl. Coordinator (Safe Poultry Production) from the Regional Animal Health Centre for Western and Central Africa, Bamako, Mali met with Dr. Lucy Tucker, Dr. Piet Simons and other FAO key staff members to explore ways to maximize coverage and dissemination of information from the Conference. It was decided that WPSJ would publish some selected papers from the Conference (2-3 papers per issue, with 4 issues per year). Moreover, a separate publication (book form) could be produced by WPSA and FAO. The book may contain chapters/papers from the Conference and other inputs from individual countries.
CDs containing Conference presentations were provided to all participants

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Turkey Branch: The General assembly of the Turkish branch met on November 24, 2006. After the approval of the activity report, elections were held for the board members. The following members were elected: President: Prof. Dr. Rüveyde Akbay; Vice President: Mr. Kemal Akman; Secretary: Prof. Dr. Servet Yalçin; Treasurer: Eng. Avni Çakir; and Members: Prof. Dr. Necmettin Ceylan, Mr. Gülbenk Yalçin, and Mr. Cemalettin Bilgin.
The Turkish branch organised an international symposium on Avian Influenza in Istanbul February 15-16, 2007. The speakers were mainly from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Research Institutes and Universities in Turkey. Prof. Dr. H.M. Hafez, the President of the World Veterinary Poultry Association and the Chairman of the WPSA Working Group 10 of the European Federation and Dr. Lance Jennings a renowned Virologist from the Canterbury Health Laboratories in New Zealand were invited speakers. The symposium was attended by 220 individuals.
The VIV Turkey 2007 Poultry Technologies International Trade Fair was held in Istanbul on June 28-30, 2007. The branch had a stand and contributed to this most important international Poultry and White Meat Products fair in the region of Turkey, Middle East, Balkans and Turkic republics.
The Turkish branch also organized a symposium on the “Adaptation process of the Turkish Poultry Sector to the European Union” in cooperation with the Ege University, Department of Animal Science. The symposium was held on November 15, 2007. The symposium included six sessions on various topics relating to Poultry and the EU accession process.
The Turkish Branch has a good working relationship with other local poultry associations and members of the poultry industry. Most of its board members act as advisors to the “Healthy Chicken Meat Platform”, which serves as a platform between the poultry industry and government agencies to address issues and problems concerning poultry.

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WPSA Sponsored and other poultry related Symposia and Conferences

A number of WPSA sponsored and other poultry meetings have been planned for the remainder of 2007 and for the first half of 2008 (See the WPSA Website for contact and registration information), including:

2008

2008 International Poultry Scientific Forum, 21-22 January 2008, contact: Sylvia Small: ssmall@poultryegg.org

2008 International Poultry Exposition, 23-25 January 2008, contact: Sylvia Small: ssmall@poultryegg.org

2nd South Asian Regional Poultry Conference & Exhibition, 10-12 March 2008, Pune, India

1st Mediterranean Summit of WPSA “Advances and Challenges in Poultry Science”, 7-10 May 2008, Porto Carras Grand Resort, Chalkidiki, Greece. Their website www.mcps2008.gr will be available soon.

VIV Europe 2008, 27-29 May 2008, Moscow, Russia

XXIII World's Poultry Congress, 29 June 29 - 4 July 2008, Brisbane, Australia

9th International Symposium on Avian Endocrinology (ISAE), 11-15 July 2008, Leuven, Belgium

Poultry Science Association Centennial Meeting, 23-28 July 2008, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

VIV China 2008, 26-28 September 2008, Beijing, P.R. China

2009

VIV Asia 2009, 11-13 March 2009, Bangkok, Thailand

8th European Symposium on Poultry Welfare, 18-22 May 2009, Cervia, Italy, contact: Dr V. Ferrante: valentina.ferrante@unimi.it

XIX European Symposium on the Quality of Poultry Meat and the XIII European Symposium on the Quality of Eggs and Egg Products, 21-25 June 2009, Turku, Finland, contact: Mr R. Huopalahti, rainer.huopalahti@utu.fi

We hope that many of you will consider participating in one or more of these poultry educational meetings. See the WPSA website (www.wpsa.com ) for details and registration information.

WPSA Secretariat: Dr Piet Simons, PO Box 31, 7360 AA  Beekbergen, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 55 506 3250, Fax: +31 55 506 4858, E-mail: piet.simons@wur.nl or wpsa@xs4all.nl
Website: www.wpsa.com