by SUSAN MANN
More farms are under quarantine surrounding a second farm in Oxford County confirmed to have H5N2 avian influenza, bringing the total number of quarantined farms in Ontario to 53.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has quarantined the 24 farms in a 10-kilometre zone around the second farm, a broiler-breeder operation southwest of Kitchener, confirmed to have the virus. The first farm in Ontario confirmed to have the virus was a commercial turkey operation north of Woodstock.
“The risk from migratory birds is high right now. It’s that time of the year,” says Ingrid DeVisser, chair of the Ontario Feather Board Command Centre, referring to the spring wild bird migration. “Biosecurity is key. Everybody in the province is on heightened biosecurity at this point.”
The Ontario Feather Board Command Centre is the poultry industry’s disease management organization.
In a background document posted on its website, CFIA says there’s no evidence to date to indicate the two Ontario influenza cases are linked, and that means the chicken broiler breeder operation didn’t contract the virus from the turkey farm. “They are separate incidents,” the notice says.
Avian influenza isn’t a food safety risk when poultry and poultry products are properly handled and cooked. The virus rarely affects humans that don’t have consistent contact with infected birds.
There are still 29 farms under quarantine in a 10-kilometre zone around the commercial turkey operation north of Woodstock. A total of 35,000 turkeys on that farm with the virus were euthanized by CFIA earlier this month, while the virus killed about 10,000 of the turkeys.
The chickens on the broiler-breeder operation will also be euthanized, CFIA says in an April 18 news release. Testing was done to confirm the virus after the farm experienced sudden bird deaths over several days.
The H5N2 virus in Ontario is the same strain that affected poultry farms in British Columbia in December 2014 and is the same one circulating in the United States.
Meanwhile, the presence of avian influenza in Ontario has affected another farm-related event. Breakfast on the Farm scheduled for June 6 has been postponed indefinitely. Farm & Food Care Ontario announced the postponement in a press release issued Tuesday. The decision was based on advice from industry partners and discussion with the host family, the release says, noting avian influenza poses a significant risk to Ontario’s poultry farms.
Since 2013, 6,000 people have attended three on-farm breakfast events across Ontario. The event is free to attend but visitors must reserve tickets. So far, almost 900 tickets have been reserved for the breakfast at the Veldman farm near Embro. It’s the first time in the event’s two-year history that it had to be postponed.
Sue McLarty, Farm & Food Care Ontario special events manager, says this morning she emailed everyone who reserved tickets plus the volunteers scheduled to work at the event to notify them of the postponement. “We haven’t been able to reschedule yet because it’s hard to make plans when you don’t know how the avian influenza risk is going to go. We’re just kind of playing it by ear.”
McLarty says “last Tuesday we were hopeful it was going ahead and then Monday it wasn’t.”
Earlier this month, the Poultry Industry Council and the Western Fair District announced the cancellation of the London Poultry Show scheduled for this week.
Embro-area egg and grain farmer Dan Veldman and his family were gearing up to host about 2,000 people for the fourth on farm breakfast event.
“There is a story to be told and we love telling our story,” says Veldman. “We think consumers are very interested in where their food comes from but this just didn’t work. The risks just outweighed the benefit.”
The organizers decided to postpone the event “until things get under control,” says Veldman, an Egg Farmers of Ontario board director.
The farm of Dan and Glynis Veldman is located about 10 to 15 kilometres away from the turkey farm with the virus and about 40 to 45 kilometres away from the broiler breeder operation. It is not in the quarantined zones.
As for biosecurity on their farm, Veldman says they reviewed their procedures to ensure they’re “watching every little detail. The biggest thing with us is we were moving birds and cleaning barns when the first (avian influenza case) broke out.”
Veldman says once a year they send their spent laying hens to processor Maple Lodge, clean and disinfect the barns and get new hens in. They were in the middle of that process during the first outbreak near Woodstock. “It was a difficult time but all our birds are back in and everything is going good, touch wood.”
“You just hope that you’re not going to be the one that’s going to get it,” he adds.
The farm has two barns with 20,000 laying hens in each one and one barn with 10,000 hens. The Veldmans also grow cash crops.
Amy Matheson, communication administrator for the Oxford County Federation of Agriculture and a member of the Oxford breakfast on the farm organizing committee, says the six-person committee has spent the past year working on the event.
“We are disappointed but we also realize that it is the most responsible thing to do in order to protect the Ontario poultry industry,” she says. “It wasn’t a decision that was made lightly.”
McLarty says, “we were really excited to have a poultry and grain farm. It was unique because the Veldmans have viewing rooms into the barn so you could have seen into the barn.”
UPDATE WED. APRIL 22 2015 9:45 A.M. -- The Saugeen Valley Fur & Feather Fanciers Association has announced the cancellation of its sale. The sale was scheduled to take place on Sunday in Mount Forest.
"Even though we have government agencies telling us to go ahead we have been requested to cancel by others today" the sale's organizers announced in a Facebook post yesterday. Organizers noted in an earlier Facebook message that the sale was not located within the quarantined zone. END OF UPDATE BF
Comments
Both the Ontario and Quebec dairy board's should increase there bio-security measures for dairy farms by altering quota policy.Currently dairy cattle trade freely between the USA AND Canada and also between provinces and within province.Disease that could be transferred include johne' disease,BVD,BLV,Leptospirosis,Neospora,Listeria,Crypto,Ringworm,Staph and Strep mastitis,Digital dermatitis and so far we are lucky that no Foreign animal disease such as Foot and Mouth is in North America.
So the likelyhood of such disease being transferred from farm to farm I predict would be reduced by 90% if the Quebec and Ontario Dairy Board's allowed Underproduction credits to be utilized by those who have overproduction.This policy would also strenghen Supply Management .Currently if there ever is a major disease outbreak in either Ontario or Quebec ,only the leaders are to blame and Government should not provide any support to those affected.
True free range chickens won't get it. Only antibiotic fattened chickens in over crowed factory farms that have lost there natural immune system will get sick.
Its fear mongering from the CFO and EFOC to protect there corporate monopoly. They will be using the publicity to force us small flock chicken producers to adopt micro-chips in the chickens (they say large producers would be exempt). This is a way of putting the small flock producers out of business.
There are lots of "small flocks" on the U.S. list:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/sa_anim...
Completely WRONG.
If we do a little research, what does Google find us?
One example is http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-01/barnaby-joyce-bird-flu-free-range-...
Headline.....Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has sounded a warning about free-range egg production leading to an increase in bird flu.
One key point in the article......Dr Peter Scott, a poultry veterinarian and senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne, says not only are free-range farms at higher risk, there is also concern free-range chickens will infect caged chickens with avian influenza.
How about a Better Farming article written by a reporter after some research.
Free-range farms are at higher risk
So what about all of those chicken coups in Toronto back yards . Will they be tested also or reported ?
Do a little more research.
No free range chickens have been sick. The outbreaks are in Factory farms. Politicians who sound the alarms also get election contributions from the corporations spinning the lies. The CFIA only "Suspect" it is transferred by birds they have no proof.
Some Veterinarian in Melbourne is entitled to his opinion but "Who's science is this and whats his agenda". He's spinning fear to force free-range chickens to be microchip-ed.
I
OR/Deschutes/Backyard/Mixed poultry/17-Feb-15/70
WA/Okanogan/Backyard/Chicken/3-Feb-15/40
WA/Okanogan/Backyard/Pheasant/29-Jan-15/5830
ID/Canyon/Backyard/Mixed poultry/16-Jan-15/30
WA/Clallam/Backyard/Mixed poultry/16-Jan-15/110
WA/Benton/Backyard/Mixed poultry/9-Jan-15/590
WA/Benton/Backyard/Mixed poultry/3-Jan-15/140
OR/Douglas/Backyard/Mixed poultry/19-Dec-14/130
Source: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/sa_anim...
In response to "THE RESEARCH IS IN: Backyard Flocks/Free Range Birds Get AI Too" http://betterfarming.com/comment/16026#comment-16026
As usual, the anonymous posters are trying to set up Small Flockers as the scapegoat from CAFO chicken factory irresponsibility for infecting themselves and their CAFO neighbours.
The USDA data shows that 84.5% of the flocks infected, and 99.9% of the birds infected are from CAFO chicken factories.
Small Flock farmers and backyard chicken flocks represent only 15.5% of the infected flocks, in spite of small flocks being far more prevalent than CAFO's.
Yes, in spite of superior biosecurity, some small flocks get infected. However, small flocks tend to be isolated, and don't spread the infection to neighbouring flocks.
So the question remains. Did the commercial CAFO's infect downwind Small Flockers?
CAFO chicken factories use huge exhaust fans running continuously. Those fans blow huge volumes of air, dust, manure, feathers, and other bits. Those air and dust flows carry with them live viruses that travel downwind for many kilometers, exposing or infecting everybody and everything downwind. That means the neighbouring CAFO barn, or the neighbours house and children get exposed to the deadly CAFO pollution.
The end result is predctable.
CFO and their multi-millionaire factory growers are a biohazardous Ground Zero point source of Bad Bad Bird Flu.
CFO spews their biohazard propagands, but it's just pontification, boasting, and false bravado about their super duper biohazard isolation procedures and quarantines that don't work. Their questionable quarantines are like a leaky sieve; the infection easily passes through to the next CAFO victim, time & again.
Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada
I was responding to the earlier post that stated that:
"No free range chickens have been sick. The outbreaks are in Factory farms."
I was showing that, in fact, there have been several small flocks infected with AI.
This virus does not discriminate based on flock size.
My only wish is that every farmer, regardless of the size of their flock, notifies the proper authorities if their birds become sick.
It is the law after all.
Agreed . Some get their feathers ruffled and cant see the a chick because it does not have feathers .
AI does not discriminate one flock from another . Next we will hear that small flocks are immune .
Make it so the small flocks are legal and they will report much faster.
Ontario has more than 17,000 broiler and layer small flocks and thousands more backyard flocks - all competely legal.
The small chicken flock owner down the road has ducks and geese as well.He has a beautiful pond as well, with wild geese and ducks coming and going,not sure l would say his Biosecurity is Superior though?
In response to "Biosecurity ??" http://betterfarming.com/comment/16036#comment-16036
Anybody who does free range or pastured poultry will have birds that are potentially exposed to wild birds and their diseases carried.
I think the following questions are important:
1. Are the farmed birds stressed by poor living conditions, making them more susceptible to any infections carried by the wild birds?
2. If farm animals become infected, does that farmer follow adequate biosecurity isolation procedures, so that the infection doesn't spread to other farms?
CFO's audit of Small Flock Growers in 2011 showed that:
"the majority of surveyed SFG in Ontario adhere to biosecurity practices consistent with industry standard."
"70-90% of SFG effectively limit contact with livestock, perform routine cleaning, remove mortalities and use rodent control."
There are exceptions to every rule, trend, and typical process, including biosecurity compliance. While everything can be improved, and should be continuously improved, it is the CAFO poultry factories that are the greatest risk, and should be the first priority for improvements.
Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada
70-90% of SFG effectively limit contact with livestock, perform routine cleaning, remove mortalities and use rodent control
That's 15,000 small flocks between 70-90% effective
The same stat for quota holding farms would be 98 to 100%
That's 1,000 flocks at 98 to 100% effective
Free range is letting the birds run where ever they want . Would this not also mean that they are running with other birds ? Around here most are on the road , in the neighbors fields or where ever they care to wander . Biosecurity my butt !
The concepts of "free-range", "security" and/or "confinement" mean different things depending on the context in which they are used.
For example, "free-range" aptly describes supply management's ability to run amok with the wallets of consumers, while "confinement" aptly describes what supply management does to consumers.
Therefore, descriptors of all sorts need to be used with caution because of the potential to create or even imply double-standards.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
This one fails that test. Under a bird flu quarantine thread, a real shocker as Thompson twists to attack supply management yet again. Why not follow your own guidelines and take it down.
I can't think of anything more "on topic" than somebody, anybody, everybody pointing out the irony that all this discussion about "free range", "bio-security" and "confinement" is taking place within the context of an industry which, in effect, puts consumers in cages and allows producers free range to run amok over them.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
In response to "Free Range" http://betterfarming.com/comment/16048#comment-16048
My definition of free range is that the poultry has free and direct access to the great out of doors; can see the sun; can decompress and get away from their sisters; can walk through the pasture or woods at their leisure; can flap their wings & feel the wind on their feathers; eat any grub, grass, seed, or insect they happen to find; and do dust baths in the dirt of the forest floor to their heart's content. The 18" x 18" door on my coop is opened in the morning, and closed after everybody is back in the coop by dusk.
We have LGD's (Livestock Guardian Dogs) who protect our birds, and keep them isolated. If a crow, hawk, fox, coyote, or other wild animal is thinking about coming in to fraternize with our poultry, or steal an egg or chicken, the wildlife quickly reconsiders their plan due to our LGDs.
There are other Small Flockers who do pastured poultry on grass pastures using electric poultry netting, possibly supplemented by LGDs.
On my Small Flocker farm, we are gearing up to do pastured broiler poultry this Spring. In 10 ft x 12 ft open air cages on a grassy pasture are 75 broiler chickens. The cage is moved forward each day to fresh grass for the birds to eat and scratch. The birds never see the same patch of pasture during their entire grow cycle. Any bugs that enter through the chicken wire, seeds found, or grass under the bottomless cage is welcome food for the birds, who then eat 40% less of the commercially manufactured feed which supplements the pasture.
Beside free range, "Organic" is another weird definition that is used to confuse and mislead consumers. The salivate over the 30% or higher premium prices available for "organic chicken". The organic regulation says,
" 6.8.1 The operator of an organic livestock operation shall establish and maintain animal living-conditions that accommodate the health and natural behaviour of all animals, including: a) access to the outdoors, shade, shelter, rotational pasture, exercise areas, fresh air and natural daylight suitable to the species, its stage of production, the climate and the environment;"
Unfortunately, the CAFO's (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) and "Big Food" have lobbied, done regulatory capture, redefined, twisted, and mis-interprited the organic standard to suit their profit seeking goals.
If they open a 8" x 8" door at one obscure corner of a chicken factory barn holding 200,000 birds, and that door leads to a tiny screened in porch, then the unholy alliance of CAFO cheats and Big Food often label their chicken "free range", and qualify for "organically raised" under the regulations.
Of course, the porch will hold only a tiny fraction (maybe a hundred birds or so) of the 200,000 birds, and even fewer birds ever discover the well hidden door.
Chickens are forced to live in the cesspool of CAFO chicken factories, the method used by most or all of Canada's Supply Management chicken growers. CAFO birds are crammed in, cheek to jowl, as many as 196,000 birds on one farm. The birds are forced to live in their own manure for their entire life, forced to breath the toxic dust cloud that never goes away. They are force fed antibiotics, other drugs, and weird chemical brews so as to keep them alive in spite of the poor living conditions.
Hopefully it will become clear to all consumers that CAFO chicken factories have found a convenient loophole in the regulations to subvert and mislead consumers, as usual.
Sooner or later, consumers will realize Eventually, the mounting by SM's foul chicken factories will be exposed on these issues. One day soon, all of those lies or half truths will totally rupture the trust between CAFO cheats and society, and the public will totally abandon this terribly flawed system.
Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada
Editor: Comment modified in accordance with our guidelines.
yes Free Range is letting them run Free.
That's why they are healthy and have a better immunity to disease. Sure like any species the weaker ones will fall to disease, but a majority will be fine. (unless the CFIA exterminate them first)
Why aren't the millions of wild turkeys and birds falling from the sky from this so called deadly disease. Eventually this disease will mutate (new strains) to the point where there will be no more caged chickens. However we will all starve, there won't be any more free range either as the corporations (like CFO) using CFIA as there muscle eliminate us small flockers as they have successfully done here in Oxford County
You may think that small flocks tend to be isolated, and don't spread the infection to neighbouring flocks on Manitoulin with your self-proclaimed one chicken flock, but they are thick on the ground in Waterloo, Wellington and Oxford. With more than 15,000 small flocks in Ontario - not too many are isolated!
In response to "Think About Isolation Comment" http://betterfarming.com/comment/16038#comment-16038
My comments about isolation of Small Flocks isn't just my unsubstantiated spewing of rash statements. It was based on scientific studies, data generated by Chicken Farmers of Ontario ("CFO"), and their conclusions.
01:38 PM 15-04-25
CFO did a research study of Small Flock Growers ("SFG") in 2011. A copy of CFO's summary is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uo8ye0d8j2qzh8a/CFO_SmallFlockPosters.pdf?dl=0
This research found that:
* "the majority of surveyed SFG in Ontario adhere to biosecurity practices consistent with industry standard."
* "there is an average distance of 1.6 km between Small Flocks and commercial broiler farms"
* "70-90% of SFG effectively limit contact with livestock, perform routine cleaning, remove mortalities and use rodent control."
The international sustainable agriculture organization GRAIN concluded in a 2006 report. "When it comes to bird flu, diverse small-scale poultry farming is the solution, not the problem" (see http://www.grain.org/article/entries/22-fowl-play-the-poultry-industry-s... ).
Glenn Black
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada
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