XXIII World’s Poultry Congress: something for everybody

Brisbane, Australia—One of the most exciting poultry events ever staged in Australia will take place in Brisbane in 2008. The XXIII World’s Poultry Congress will be held at the Brisbane Convention Centre from 29 June 29 to 4 July. The Congress will include a symposium on ratites (ostriches, rheas and emus) and will also incorporate the 6th Asia-Pacific Poultry Health Conference as well as many sessions on every aspect of poultry production and poultry science. There is also the Poultry Information Exchange (PIX) meeting that will run for the first two days of the Congress and is also located in the Convention Centre. At the same time and in the same venue, there will also be the biggest exhibition ever staged of national and international poultry businesses. So the Congress will have something for everybody. 

The Convention Centre is ideally located; walking distance to South Bank entertainment, the city centre and the casino for evening entertainment. 

The organisers are expecting over 2000 participants, with more than half from overseas. An excellent scientific program has been planned with the presentation of well over 1000 papers including cutting-edge topics that will be of vital interest to those involved in any aspect of poultry production whether it is as a scientist or as an industry representative. 

Programme reflects current hot poultry topics  

The Congress organisers are acutely aware of the rapid expansion of the poultry industry in Asia and South America, and several papers will look at what is happening in these regions and why. 

• Economically important diseases of poultry, particularly in the Asia Pacific region will be summarised by Dr John Glisson from the University of Georgia, USA. The challenge of control of these diseases will be highlighted. 
• Avian influenza is continuously in the media headlines and Nobel Laureate, Peter Doherty, will provide an insight into this deadly virus and its containment. 
• Village poultry, so important in developing countries, will occupy a number of sessions 
• Future feed supply will also be discussed. What are the consequences of grains being diverted from the livestock industry into fuel production? 
• Cutting edge papers on genetics and breeding are on the programme. A paper of particular interest will be on the development of transgenic chickens. 
• Ratites, particularly ostriches, have developed rapidly, and are now being farmed widely especially in China and Vietnam for their leather, meat, feathers and oil. Not only will there be papers presented each day on a range of topics but there will be workshops devoted to: Reproduction and hatchability; feeding and nutrition; skin and oil quality; breeding and genetics; semen collection and artificial insemination. There will be a series of workshops; these will consist of discussions between the researchers and the producers on important topics chaired by an industry representative. 
• From China, we have Dr Zhendan Shi (South China Agricultural University) speaking about reproduction in geese 
• Professor Ha Lin (Shandong Agricultural University) on the prevention of heat stress in poultry 
• Professor Hiroshi Kagami from Japan will present a paper on avian cell stem regulation and its application  in sex determination 
• Dr Hiroyuki Kaiya (National Cardiovascular Centre Research Institute, Japan) will speak on regulation of feed intake in chickens; 
• Dr Lekh Junjea from Taiyo Kagaku Company will speak on the many industrial uses of egg components as nutriceuticals 
• Professor KH Nahm from Taegu University (South Korea) will look at ways to reduce greenhouse emissions in poultry waste 
• Gordon Butland will speculate about China’s influence on the global poultry industry 

Partners’ programme  

There will be a partners’ programme, which includes a selection of day-trips to places of interest in and around Brisbane. 

We are particularly aware of the sometimes special needs of our poultry colleagues and their wives from the Asian region. Language will not be a problem. We plan to have volunteers from different countries to assist with this.