Avian flu is making the rounds again in Western Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says new cases have popped up in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Salmon Arm in B.C., and in Ponoka County here in Alberta. That brings Alberta’s total to nine commercial flocks hit this year, with more under investigation near Strathcona and Leduc. Saskatchewan’s first outbreak of the season showed up in Humboldt last month. Officials blame fall migration for spreading the virus and are urging poultry producers to lock down biosecurity.
Meanwhile, an update from an animal sanctuary in BC’s interior. The sanctuary near Summerland is reeling from what staff call a devastating outbreak of avian influenza. Critteraid says its farm has been closed since late October after a positive case of H5N1. The virus was confirmed after several birds, including a rooster named Delta, died suddenly. In total, more than a dozen chickens and five ducks were lost—some euthanized for safety. Interior Health is doing contact tracing, but no humans have tested positive. The sanctuary says strict protocols are in place to protect other animals and staff.
This is all happening just days after the CFIA carried through with a cull of 314 ostriches on a farm east of Kelowna, after the supreme court said it would not hear an appeal from the owners of the farm to spare the birds. The family stated this week, the fight is far from over.
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