(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Poultry at risk for avian flu during migration

Cases of avian flu in commercial poultry in the U.S. and Mexico earlier this year are believed to have come from wild birds, which are now migrating north for the season, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned Friday. Avian influenza spreads when wild birds come into contact with commercial/small flocks, the agency said, urging producers […] Read more

(Kim Kaplan photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Monarch population rebounds, still well off highs

Austin, Tex. | Reuters — North America’s monarch butterflies are on a rebound and the number of the plucky orange and black creatures, which gather in Mexico before flying north to Canada, could soon stand at around 150 million, a new survey showed on Feb. 26. The survey from a scientist at Natural Resources Defense […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. may kill poultry with heat stress to stop bird flu

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. agriculture officials seeking ways to control deadly bird flu have approved the use of a method to kill poultry by turning up the heat in their barns and shutting off ventilation systems. The Agriculture Department will consider using the method, condemned by animal rights groups as cruel, if there are […] Read more

(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Avian flu risk higher with fall migrations

Poultry farmers in Ontario are being warned to keep biosecurity top of mind as wild birds get ready to fly south this fall. “With the fall weather quickly approaching, resulting in colder temperatures and wild bird migrations, the threat of re-emergence of (highly pathogenic avian influenza) is real,” the Feather Board Command Centre, the emergency […] Read more