News

Wisconsin governor declares state of emergency for bird flu outbreak

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared on Monday a state of emergency after discovering three flocks of poultry in the state contracted a lethal case of bird flu.

April 21, 2015

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared on Monday a state of emergency after discovering three flocks of poultry in the state contracted a lethal case of bird flu. Walker called for the National Guard to help contain the outbreak, according to Law 360 news.

The governor assured the public that avian flu is not a threat to humans. So far it has affected thousands of chickens and turkeys and spread to Jefferson, Juneau and Barron counties.

Resources are sparse, the governor said, due to additional outbreaks in the Midwest. A commercial chick flock of more than 180,000 egg-laying birds was diagnosed with the H5 avian flu strain on April 13, with detection in 40 mixed-breed backyard birds and 126,000 commercial turkeys, the article said.

An outbreak discovered on Monday at an Iowa commercial chicken egg-laying facility will lead to the euthanizing of more than 5.3 million hens, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Since January 2015 more than 1 million turkeys and chickens were diagnosed with bird flu in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas, the Dakotas and Kansas.

Canada, Japan, Costa Rica and 28 European Union countries have instituted bans on poultry exports while China issued import restrictions on U.S. poultry products, a move that could hurt U.S. poultry farmers with China as major export market.