H1N1 ("Swine") Flu Trivia

In the United States, there have been several cases of H1N1 infecting domestic cats. There has also been a case in the U.S. of H1N1 infecting a dog. But there have been no cases in the US of H1N1 infecting chickens.

Of course, as far as H1N1 flu transmission, in the United States, neither dogs nor cats nor chickens are serious public health threats. Still, if you really were concerned about H1N1 and public health, the fact is that your pets are a bigger threat to your health than chickens.

Yet, for some reason, some uninformed people are going to city council meetings in Rosemead saying they're concerned about the "swine flu" threat from a poultry slaughterhouse. Some of their council members also say they want to shut down the slaughterhouse because of H1N1 (!). But they're also trying to build kennels to house stray dogs and cats.

If I went to a city council meeting and said I'm worried about Rosemead housing dogs and cats because of H1N1, would anyone take me seriously? If not, then why would anyone take seriously a claim that they're opposed to the poultry slaughterhouse because of H1N1?