North Carolina to suspend sales of live poultry for five months amidst bird flu outbreak
by: Jonathan Benson
NaturalNews.com
Monday, July 20, 2015
The country’s fourth largest producer of chickens for meat and the third largest producer of turkeys is responding to the ongoing bird flu scare by shutting down all shows and sales of live poultry beginning in mid-August. North Carolina State Veterinarian Doug Meckes says the move is necessary to thwart a potential outbreak of bird flu in the Southern U.S., where no cases of the disease have been reported yet.
With a rising death toll of some 50 million birds nationally — only a tiny fraction of which actually had bird flu; the rest were slaughtered out of “precaution” — the ongoing bird flu crisis is having a significant impact on the U.S. poultry industry. If media rhetoric continues as it has, many more birds are likely to be put down before health authorities abandon their reactionary approach and start considering a more rational plan of action that doesn’t involve destroying the entire poultry industry.
Nevertheless, the News & Observer reports that North Carolina’s ban on live poultry shows and sales will take place during the five-month period between August 15 and January 15, which is when waterfowl migrate from northern regions to the South. It is during this time that Meckes believes North Carolina’s poultry animals face the highest risk of contracting bird flu from wild birds.
Consequently, the North Carolina State Fair, which takes place in October, will not be featuring any poultry exhibits this year, despite having more than 300 poultry entries last year. Wake County’s 4-H Youth Development program, which teaches families and children how to raise chickens, will also be barred from presenting any live poultry at the event.
“I think it’s very sad on the kids’ behalf,” stated Heather Schaffer, who heads the 4-H program, to the News & Observer. “You might not be happy that you don’t get to show your chicken, but it’s part of being a responsible animal keeper,” she added, in support of the ban.
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