Iowa bans bird shows as avian flu outbreaks persist
Robert Roos
CIDRAP News
May 21, 2015
Iowa state officials today announced a ban on live-bird shows and some sales for the rest of this year in an effort to stop the spread of avian flu, and followed up by reporting another chicken outbreak, which followed two turkey outbreaks announced yesterday.
Meanwhile, a Reuters story today said that on the basis of a reporter’s experience, recommended biosecurity measures were not being enforced at several farms in northwestern Iowa, where the state’s outbreaks are concentrated.
Bird bazaars banned
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) announced an order to cancel all live-bird exhibitions at county fairs, the Iowa State Fair, and other gatherings. The department also banned the sale of birds at livestock auction markets, swap meets, and exotic sales, effective immediately.
“We are asking producers and bird owners to increase their biosecurity measures and we feel this is a needed step to further minimize the risk of spreading the virus,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said in the IDALS statement. “The scale of this outbreak has been unprecedented, so we think it is important we take every possible step to limit the chance that this disease will spread any further.”
Iowa, the nation’s top egg producer, has had 63 avian flu outbreaks affecting more than 25 million birds.
IDALS officials decided on the ban after consulting with leaders of the Iowa State Fair and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Also, the Iowa Turkey Federation and Iowa Poultry Association both recommended cancellation of bird exhibitions this year because of the avian flu crisis, the agency said. Last week Minnesota announced a similar ban on bird shows and sales.
Three more outbreaks
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