The highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) has been spreading quickly among bird populations across Ontario.
Since the first reported outbreak in a poultry flock Guelph on March 27, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has identified the presence of H5N1 in 12 regions across Ontario as of April 12.
Although it isn't a threat to our food safety, it is forcing farmers to kill large flocks of poultry meant for consumption.
“Each infected premise has been placed under quarantine. CFIA has established movement control measures and is recommending enhanced bio-security for other farms within that area,” stated by the CFIA website
The owners of Growing Hope Farm in Cambridge have a small flock of egg laying chickens, alongside many other farm animals on their property, which so far has managed to stay out of the quarantine zones placed around outbreaks in Guelph and Woolwich Township at the end of March.
Sarah and Phillip Martin-Mills have been operating Growing Hope Farm in Preston for six years, and is one of the only properties in the city that is allowed to have poultry on site.
They also raise turkeys but haven’t started that yet. Sarah said that comes closer to May. Right now she’s focused on goats.
“We're not in the epicentre of it but unfortunately birds can fly, so it can be very easily transmitted.”
The local farm isn’t concerned yet but if they become part of the red zone, as outlined on the map tracked by CFIA, they will have to quarantine their birds as well.
“We're not in the quarantine zone yet, but it is getting close to us,” Sarah said. “We have free range layers, if we got to that point, we would have to put them in a covered pen or something like that so wild birds couldn’t get at them.”
She said she knows of two local hatcheries that sell to the public are in the epicentre of it all.
“It’s going to make getting birds for poultry really difficult and then when you do get them you don’t know, right? You have to do all this paperwork to get them out of the quarantine zone and then you have to protect them.”
Last Friday, the Ministry of Agriculture put out a release stating that the government is taking additional measures to protect flocks.
Lisa Thompson, the Minister of Agriculture for the province issued a minister’s order under the Animal Health Act.
The aim is to reduce birds co-mingling with one another, to reduce the spread of the virus. It's a familiar restriction for all of us during the pandemic.
On April 9, the movement and participation of birds in events such as shows or educational displays was prohibited. The order is set to expire May 9.
“Temporarily reducing direct contact between birds from different locations will limit the spread of avian influenza and protect animal health, and is an important part of a strong bio-security plan,” as stated on the release.
“It makes life even more interesting this year,” said Sarah, hopeful birds will fare better fighting their virus than us, as bird migration season ends in a couple weeks.
