TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Geography
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American nation of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It also shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the northeast and Guyana to the southeast. The country covers an area of 5,128 square kilometres with Trinidad being 4,828 sq km and Tobago 300 sq km. Trinidad and Tobago are southeasterly islands of the Antilles or West Indies, situated between 10° 2' and 11° 12' N latitude and 60° 30' and 61° 56' W longitude. At the closest point, Trinidad is just 11 kilometres (7 miles) off the Venezuelan coast. Trinidad is a  significant producer and exporter of oil and natural gas.
 The total population of this twin island republic is 1,300,000 (2007 estimate.) with an estimated annual population growth rate of -0.883% The capital of Trinidad is Port of Spain (metropolitan pop. 310,000) and other main cities are San Fernando, Chaguanas, Arima and Scarborough. Of these three, Chaguanas is the fastest growing. The largest town in Tobago is Scarborough. The terrain consists of plains and low mountains. The islands consist of Trinidad and Tobago, and 21 smaller islands. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands; Tobago is much smaller, comprising about 6% of the total area and 4% of the population.

The highest point in the country is found on the Northern Range at El Cerro del Aripo which is situated at 940 metres (3,085 ft) above sea level. The climate is tropical. There are two seasons annually: the dry season for the first six months of the year and the wet season in the second half of the year. Winds are predominantlly from the northeast and are dominated by the northeast trade winds. As the majority of the population live in Trinidad, this is the location of most major towns and cities, with a population density of 207.8 per sq km.

The poultry industry
Approximately 45,000,000 broiler birds were reared by poultry framers in Trinidad and Tobago in 2006.  During that same year, the number of birds in lay was estimated at 400,000 producing 108 million table eggs with an annual per capita consumption of approximately 80 eggs. Broiler meat consumption was approximately 50kg per person per year. In 2006, the country imported approximately 3000 metric tonnes of poultry meat mainly from the USA to meet the local demand.
The commercial poultry sector accounts for 95% of poultry production in the country, while non-commercial and backyard farmers account for 5%.

Bio-security in commercial sector is at levels 1 and 2. A few farms are at level 3.
Bio-security in the back yard non-commercial sectors is at level 3 and 4.
There are 6 large to medium sized commercial processing plants in the country.
However, there are over 3000 Pluck Shops where live chickens can be bought and slaughtered on the spot.  These Pluck Shops account for 20% of all poultry slaughtered in Trinidad and occupy a specific niche in the local culture. Pluck shop operators often visit poultry farms and purchase live chickens from farmers and then keep these chickens in a small enclosure in their shops. After being identified by the customer the chickens are slaughtered on the spot and offered to the buyer. In the Caribbean, Pluck Shops are unique to Trinidad and Guyana.
All hatching eggs are imported from the USA. There are no breeder flocks in Trinidad. However, there are 3 large and 5 medium sized hatcheries supplying broiler farmers with day old chicks.
Poultry vaccines used routinely in the country are against Marek’s Disease, Newcastle Disease, Gumboro’s Disease and Fowl Pox. Baby chicks are vaccinated in the hatcheries. Occasionally vaccine is also administered on farms. All vaccines used in the country are registered by the Ministry of Agriculture and are imported from the USA from the traditional poultry vaccine manufacturers such as Merial, Intervet and Fort Dodge.
The Legislation relating to the poultry industry and disease is the Animal Disease and Importation Act of 1967.
The Official Veterinary Services is comprised of several units or departments one of which is the Poultry Surveillance Unit (PSU) which manages and operates the National Poultry Surveillance Programme. The unit is staffed by one veterinarian and 10 technicians or animal health assistants. All commercial flocks are visited and checked by the animal health assistants and the veterinarian at least once per month. Surveillance samples are routinely submitted to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for screening for AI and other important diseases of poultry. Surveillance is also routinely conducted among back yard flocks, pluck shops and in wild bird nesting areas or other areas frequented by wild birds in keeping with the Surveillance Plan. A registry of Pluck Shops is being developed to facilitate regulation of this sector as well as to assist in conducting surveillance among these establishments. Pet shops have also being targeted for surveillance.
The Veterinary Diagnostic Lab is equipped with ELISA machines and the appropriate infrastructure for conducting the AGID as well.  The lab is also equipped with freezers, centrifuges, incubators, sterilizers, laminar flow hoods, biosafety cabinets and microscopes. Plans are in place to acquire PCR equipment soon. For AI, the rapid test is conducted in the field and the ELISA in the laboratory. There are 17 veterinarians in the Official Veterinary Services in Trinidad and Tobago (14 based in Trinidad and 3 in Tobago). In addition there are 25 Animal Health Assistants working in the field. In the Diagnostic Laboratory there are two veterinarians and twelve technicians and other support staff.
Diseases of concern to the Veterinary Services and poultry industry include chronic respiratory disease, E.coli septicemia, aspergillosis and coccidiosis.
In 2005 there was a large outbreak of Aspergillosis on a poultry farm; this was the first large outbreak of this disease in Trinidad and Tobago and resulted in the death or culling of several thousand broilers. Two years earlier in 2003, Trinidad experienced its first and only outbreak of Infectious Laryngotracheitis (ILT) which the Veterinary Services brought under control and eradicated by movement control and systematically culling all the birds on the single affected farm followed by disinfection of the premises.   
There is a strong Poultry Association in Trinidad and Tobago whose representatives sit on the AI Management Committee which is chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture. The Committee meets once every two months.
The Poultry Association in conjunction with the Caribbean Poultry Association regularly conducts workshops and seminars for poultry farmers on a variety of topics such as bio-security, production and marketing strategy. The Association also prepares and distributes information on AI and other poultry diseases to its members. It also lobbies government and lends its support for the participation of official veterinarians at international seminars and workshops on AI and related topics. Members of the Association also participate routinely in OIE regional meetings and seminars especially those that relate to poultry.

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