Media Coverage
January 28, 2003 to January 31, 2003
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Media Coverage - Main Page
The Arizone Republic
Dead chickens lead to tests for poultry virus
Associated Press
Jan. 31, 2003 11:10 AM
REF: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0131poultrydisease-ON.html
PARKER - Federal authorities are testing chickens from a western Arizona Indian reservation to determine if they were infected with a deadly and highly infectious virus.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sent a veterinarian to the Colorado River Indian Tribes' reservation this week after a farmer near Poston reported that about 30 chickens had died suddenly, tribal officials said Friday.
The rest of the flock was immediately euthanized and the tribal government quarantined all domestic birds on the reservation, which is on the Arizona-California state line.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture lab is testing the birds to see if they had contracted Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of chickens in Southern California. Officials have also placed a quarantine on poultry and pet birds from California to southern Nevada.
The disease is highly contagious among poultry and birds but poses no health risks for humans.
"We are working very closely with USDA officials to make sure this incident remains as isolated as possible," said tribal Chairman Daniel Eddy Jr. "We want to make sure we do as much as possible in cooperation with the federal authorities to address this situation and make sure poultry in this region is not affected."
The tribe said the test results will be released as soon as they're available.
Daily Bulletin - CA
Norco bird owner wins reprieve
Official agrees to personally supervise testing for Newcastle disease
Article Last Updated: Friday, January 31, 2003 - 1:29:50 AM MST
By NAOMI KRESGE
STAFF WRITER
REF: http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203%257E21481%257E1147651,00.html
NORCO — A bird owner says his pets will get a second chance next week, after a top official in the exotic Newcastle disease task force agreed to personally supervise their testing for the disease.
Randy Walker has been one of the loudest critics of the way the task force has dealt with owners of pet birds. At a town hall meeting last week, he upbraided Incident Commander Annette Whiteford and other task force leaders for attempting to euthanize his dozens of ducks, geese, and chickens, his turkeys and emus, and his peacocks without testing the birds first for the fatal avian virus.
"I understand the big picture, if you will, but the big picture shouldn't apply to my place, especially since I haven't been afforded the test," he said this week.
He said Whiteford called him the day after the Norco meeting and that they have been in touch by telephone every weekday since then.
Whiteford could not be reached for comment Thursday.
"It's an open investigation, and since it is open, we cannot provide information about the case," task force spokeswoman Laticia Rico said.
Walker said Whiteford agreed with him that inconsistencies existed between the way task force teams treated his bird-owning neighbors and his property.
"It went from euthanization and I have no options last Thursday afternoon to where they're going to come out and reevaluate," Walker said. "At least I have a chance. There's no guarantee, and I understand that, but at least they're affording me the test and reevaluating."
Walker's bird yard covers the back quarter of his property, fenced off from the neatly clipped back lawn. The ducks, geese and some of the chickens live in the yard, with a few Brazilian pepper trees and a wading pool. Facing the yard are coops for the larger birds the emus, turkeys and peacocks. He estimates he has between 150 and 200 birds in all.
The fowl with the run of the yard all converge on the white lattice gate when his 11-year-old daughter Heather comes out after school, he said.
"You wouldn't think that a bird would be able to identify with people, but when she comes to that back door they come flying out to meet her," he said. "That's what I'm fighting for."
Walker said he and Whiteford have tentatively planned to conduct the testing Feb. 7, and that he has invited neighbors, the City Council and the City Manager to attend. Naomi Kresge can be reached by e-mail naomi.kresge@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8553.
KVOA TV - Tuscon, AZ
REF: http://www.kvoa.com/stories/1/1312003_1.html
Possibly virus in Arizona chickens
(AP) -- Has a highly contagious disease that affects poultry and birds reached Arizona?
That's something the U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to find out.
Tests are being conducted following the sudden deaths of a number of chickens belonging to farmer along the Arizona-California border. The U.S.-D-A wants to find out if they had contracted Exotic Newcastle Disease.
The disease - which poses to health risks for humans - has led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of chickens in Southern California.
The Arizona farm where the chicken deaths occurred is located near Poston, on the Colorado River Indian Tribes' Reservation.
The farmer lost 30 of his chickens. Since then, the other 20 he had were euthanized.
Tribal officials also have quarantined all domestic birds on the reservation as a precaution.
Published: Jan. 31, 2003
Daily Bulletin - CA
Vegas squawks over bird kill @hUB:Virus threatens poultry industry
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Article Last Updated: Friday, January 31, 2003 - 6:10:46 PM MST
REF: http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~1150034,00.html
LAS VEGAS Some Las Vegas residents are complaining about backyard birds being killed in a federal poultry eradication program aimed at containing the outbreak of a deadly avian virus.
"If my birds are sick, then I can understand why they should be destroyed," said Jill Duncan, whose three geese, 17 ducks and 40 chickens were due to be euthanized on Saturday. "But how do we know they are sick unless they are first tested? These are my pets."
Duncan, 56, lives in a one-kilometer kill zone where 190 state and federal agents have been eradicating birds since authorities announced Jan. 16 that exotic Newcastle disease had killed birds in a nearby backyard chicken flock.
She said she's had some of her birds for 20 years.
Government officials said that if the avian virus spreads, it could devastate California's multibillion-dollar commercial poultry industry.
"If we did not take extreme action we would never get ahead of this," said Nolan Lemon, spokesman for a multi-governmental exotic Newcastle disease Task Force. "If we aren't aggressive, we will be in a dire situation."
More than 1.7 million birds have been slaughtered as a precaution in Southern California since the virus was first found there in September.
The outbreak has prompted a quarantine on poultry and pet birds in Southern California and southern Nevada including all of Clark County and parts of Nye County south of Amargosa Valley.
The virus poses no threat to humans, and the sale of chicken and other poultry products is not affected by the quarantine.
Pet and feed stores are prohibited from selling or moving birds.
Utah and Oregon have banned the importation of birds from areas in California and Nevada affected by the disease.
Sue Jerrems, a longtime resident of the Las Vegas neighborhood near Nellis Air Force Base, said agents dressed in white contamination suits netted her five peacocks and seven other birds on Thursday.
"I was pretty upset (Wednesday), but today, when I got up and found my rooster was sick, I had to accept that maybe there is something to this," Jerrems said.
The federal Agriculture Department is compensating bird owners, at fair market value, for destroyed birds. The amounts vary based on type and number of birds.
There is no treatment or vaccine for infected birds. Symptoms include lethargy, tremors, gaping beaks, runny discharge around the eyes and beak and sudden death.
Officials say coops must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and residents are instructed not to replace their flocks until at least 30 days after the quarantine is lifted.
Las Vegas Sun
Today: January 31, 2003 at 11:38:40 PST
REF: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/jan/31/c00036002.html
A MEMBER of the Nevada Newcastle Task Force tries to catch a peacock at the home of Jerry and Sue Jerrems' home near Lake Mead and Lamb boulevards. The Jerrems' pet birds were destroyed because they live near where the Exotic Newcastle Disease killed a flock of chickens earlier this month. The highly contagious and fatal disease does not infect humans but can infect all species of birds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to contain the infection.
Las Vegas Sun
Today: January 31, 2003 at 11:38:40 PST
REF: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/jan/31/c00036001.html
JILL DUNCAN stands in her chicken coop at her home near Lake Mead and Lamb boulevards. Duncan's chickens, ducks and geese are to be destroyed because she lives near where the Exotic Newcastle Disease killed a flock of chickens earlier this month. The highly contagious and fatal disease does not infect humans but can infect all species of birds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to contain the infection.
Las Vegas Sun
Today: January 31, 2003 at 14:11:37 PST
Pet bird owners upset over federal eradication program
By Ed Koch
koch@lasvegassun.com
LAS VEGAS SUN
REF: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/jan/31/514598946.html
Eastern Las Vegas residents are crying foul over federal authorities killing their pet poultry without first testing the birds for a deadly avian disease that is the focus of a quarantine and a limited eradication program.
Jill Duncan, who owns three geese, 17 ducks and 40 chickens in a one-kilometer eradication zone, says she feels she was misled by officials who told her they would test her birds. Other area residents agree after watching those tests being conducted on their birds postmortem.
"If my birds are sick, then I can understand why they should be destroyed," Duncan, 56, said Thursday. "But how do we know they are sick unless they are first tested? These are my pets. What are they going to do next, determine our dogs and cats have too many fleas and kill them?"
On Saturday, U.S. Agriculture Department agents are scheduled to euthanize Duncan's birds, some of which are 20 years old.
Government officials say that if the 190 state and federal agents who have converged on Las Vegas for the eradication process had to first test each live bird, the county would be overcome by the rapid spread of the disease.
"If we did not take extreme action we would never get ahead of this," said Nolan Lemon, spokesman for the multi-governmental Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force. "If we aren't aggressive, we will be in a dire situation."
Lemon, who also is with the USDA, said that by drawing a one-kilometer battle line around the infected areas, and attacking inward, thousands of birds throughout the valley can be saved.
"It is unfortunate that animals are being euthanized," he said. "But if this virus is not contained, it has the potential to make mad cow disease look like a walk in the park. Exotic Newcastle Disease is the Ebola virus to birds."
In the mid-1990s, a series of deaths in Great Britain from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease occurred after people consumed beef from cattle infected with mad cow disease, resulting in a worldwide beef consumption scare. Ebola virus, a blood ailment, has caused widespread human death in the Third World.
Exotic Newcastle Disease, however, poses no threats to humans. Eggs and the meat of afflicted birds can be safely consumed by people, officials say.
Since Jan. 17 there has been a no-movement quarantine on fowl in east Las Vegas neighborhoods. Lemon said the disease has been found in seven locations within the kill zone. Those locations were not released.
The eradication zone generally is bordered by Owens Avenue to the south, Marion Street to the east, Cheyenne Avenue to the north and Wilkins Street to the west. A one-kilometer surveillance zone surrounds the pear-shaped kill zone. Live animal testing is being conducted in the surveillance zone, Lemon said.
Sue Jerrems, a longtime Lamb Boulevard resident, said she could not bear to watch agents dressed in white contamination suits chase down the 12 birds -- including five peacocks -- in her huge rural backyard and gas them them Thursday.
"I was pretty upset (Wednesday), but today, when I got up and found my rooster was sick, I had to accept that maybe there is something to this," Jerrems said.
Jerrems said one agent told her that the local problem may stem from people bringing diseased fighting cocks to Las Vegas from California where 1.5 million commercial birds and 82,500 backyard birds had been destroyed in six counties -- Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura.
"We cannot conclusively say that fighting cocks from California and Mexico are the source of the problem in Las Vegas, but it certainly is a risk factor," Lemon said. "There is always that risk when birds are smuggled in and out of a quarantined area."
The USDA and the task force are paying bird owners fair market value for the birds they are destroying from a congressionally approved emergency fund. The amounts vary based on type of birds and numbers of fowl.
Jerrems accepted an offer of $545 for her birds, including $80 apiece for her peacocks. But Duncan said she has not even allowed federal appraisers on her property to evaluate the birds' worth.
Duncan is holding on to her hope that her birds can be spared. However, she says, she will obey the law if agents come to her with a court order to enter her property and confiscate her birds.
Federal officials say if they don't soon contain the virus, the multibillion-dollar U.S. poultry products industry could be crippled.
Lemon said there is an embargo on California-produced poultry products in Europe. He said other nations are refusing all U.S. poultry products until they are convinced the problem is under control in the Southwest.
California has a $3 billion-a-year commercial poultry products industry. Nevada has no commercial poultry industry other than pet stores and feed shops that sell birds. Lemon said there have been no confirmed cases of Exotic Newcastle Disease at local shops.
There is no treatment or vaccine for birds afflicted with the strain, officials said. Symptoms include drooping wings, sneezing, nasal discharge, greenish diarrhea, depression, muscular tumors, paralysis, swelling of eye and neck tissue, the laying of thin-shelled eggs and a drop in egg production.
Following such ailments, sudden death can occur within the flock.
Areas where birds are confiscated are cleaned and disinfected.
Residents are being instructed not to replace the dead birds until at least 30 days after the quarantine is lifted.
Birds kept in indoor cages are not being confiscated and destroyed, Lemon said.
However, to keep them free from the disease, he recommends that owners remove and clean their shoes with a solution of three-quarters of a cup of bleach per one gallon of water immediately after entering their homes.
Lemon also says people should blow their noses to remove potential spores before coming into close contact with their birds and wash their hands for 10 to 20 seconds before and after touching their pets.
Reno Gazette Journal, NV
Some in Vegas squawking about birds killed in virus sweep
Associated Press
1/31/2003 12:25 pm
REF: http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/01/31/33330.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News
Some Las Vegas residents are complaining about backyard birds being killed in a federal poultry eradication program aimed at containing the outbreak of a deadly avian virus.
"If my birds are sick, then I can understand why they should be destroyed,"said Jill Duncan, whose three geese, 17 ducks and 40 chickens were due to be euthanized on Saturday."But how do we know they are sick unless they are first tested? These are my pets."
Duncan, 56, lives in a one-kilometer kill zone where 190 state and federal agents have been eradicating birds since authorities announced Jan. 16 that Exotic Newcastle Disease had killed birds in a nearby backyard chicken flock.
She said she's had some of her birds for 20 years.
Government officials said that if the avian virus spreads, it could devastate California's multibillion-dollar commercial poultry industry.
"If we did not take extreme action we would never get ahead of this,"said Nolan Lemon, spokesman for a multi-governmental Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force."If we aren't aggressive, we will be in a dire situation."
More than 1.7 million birds have been slaughtered as a precaution in Southern California since the virus was first found there in September.
The outbreak has prompted a quarantine on poultry and pet birds in Southern California and southern Nevada _ including all of Clark County and parts of Nye County south of Amargosa Valley.
The virus poses no threat to humans, and the sale of chicken and other poultry products is not affected by the quarantine.
Pet and feed stores are prohibited from selling or moving birds.
Utah and Oregon have banned the importation of birds from areas in California and Nevada affected by the disease.
Sue Jerrems, a longtime resident of the Las Vegas neighborhood near Nellis Air Force Base, said agents dressed in white contamination suits netted her five peacocks and seven other birds on Thursday.
"I was pretty upset (Wednesday), but today, when I got up and found my rooster was sick, I had to accept that maybe there is something to this,"Jerrems said.
The federal Agriculture Department is compensating bird owners, at fair market value, for destroyed birds. The amounts vary based on type and number of birds.
There is no treatment or vaccine for infected birds. Symptoms include lethargy, tremors, gaping beaks, runny discharge around the eyes and beak and sudden death.
Officials say coops must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and residents are instructed not to replace their flocks until at least 30 days after the quarantine is lifted.
Information from: Las Vegas Sun
KVBC, NV
Bird Owners Upset Over Newcastle Virus Prevention Tactics
REF: http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=1107879&nav=15MVDgc3
More than 15-hundred birds have now been destroyed here in Las Vegas in the effort to control an outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease. The deadly bird virus can't harm people, but it's causing a lot of heartache for animal-owners forced to surrender their pets. News 3's Steve Crupi reports some bird owners are refusing to cooperate.
Every day for the past two weeks, state and federal agriculture agents have been going through the neighborhoods that are zoned for farm animals. They're trying to stop the spread of a destructive disease, but some pet owners think the tactics are too extreme. "They just killed 'em." The bird pens in Lindsie Comerford's backyard are now empty. Her fifteen geese and chickens were euthanized by workers who are racing against time to stop the exotic Newcastle disease from spreading.
"I feel sad and I feel mad knowing they didn't test the ducks or anything." Jill Duncan still has her birds. She's been fighting for days now to keep the government from killing them. "The first four days I spent crying." She's convinced her birds aren't sick and therefore shouldn't have to die. "I told 'em they have to have a court order before they come on my property."
Misty Comerford says she wishes she had put up a fight as well, but her pets are gone, and she'll never know whether they carried the disease or not. "I miss, I miss their noise a lot. The rooster crow, i miss it, I miss it a lot." Until the quarantine is lifted, no live birds are allowed to be moved in or out of southern Nevada. The big fear is that the disease could infiltrate America's poultry farms and have a devestating economic effect.
The US Department of Agriculture has received numerous phone calls from residents here in Las Vegas with questions about exotic Newcastle disease. A new information hotline has been set up, so you can get answers to your questions. The number is 1-866-490-2991.
The Press-Enterprise
Landfill changes chicken burials
DISEASE: Riverside County officials tell a task force that compacted trash works as a cover.
01/31/2003
REF: http://www.pe.com/business/local/PE_BIZ_nchickn31.a19a4.html
Hickman said his plan calls for covering each new load of chickens with compacted trash within 10 minutes.
Doug Kuney, a poultry expert and farm adviser at UC Riverside, said he worked last week with Hickman, other county officials and Waste Management Inc., the private company that runs the El Sobrante Landfill south of Corona, to develop a 15-minute videotape to train landfill workers. The tape was forwarded to the Newcastle task force, Kuney said.
Kuney said task force leaders from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and California Department of Food and Agriculture told him this week that they approved of the procedure depicted in the tape.
"We concur with the new procedure for burying poultry, as long as the volume of trash creates a sufficient seal that would be equivalent to that one created when using soil," said Leticia Rico, task force spokesperson.
Hickman and Kuney said they had hoped the video could be used as a guideline for other landfills involved in the eradication program.
"We work with the landfills, but we don't make decisions for the local landfills," Rico said. She said the task force is still evaluating the biosecurity content of the video.
The tape shows how 12 feet of commercial trash can be compacted into a 3-foot cover, Kuney said. The cover is impervious to sea gulls and scavengers that could spread exotic Newcastle disease.
Hickman said the need for formalized guidelines became apparent when The Press-Enterprise reported on Jan. 18 that several truckloads of dead birds were seen sitting in the open at the Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill in Rialto, San Bernardino County's main landfill.
Hickman said that, before then, he had been unable to get guidance from the joint state and federal task force on how to dispose of the birds.
"I had been requesting a procedure and never got any," he said. "I received birds before I received procedures."
Responding to Hickman, Rico said that "task force staff have worked closely with all landfill staff to accomplish safe and biosecure disposal practices."
Hickman said the tape shows how to separate trucks and bulldozers carrying dead birds from other landfill traffic and how to designate an area to wash the vehicles with disinfectant.
So far, 1.5 million hens from commercial farms and 81,254 backyard birds in Southern California have been destroyed, and another nearly 285,000 birds are scheduled for euthanasia. The vast majority are being buried in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Last week, operators of the Mid-Valley and El Sobrante landfills said they were covering each load of chicken carcasses with trash, which was capped at the end of the day with a foot of dirt, as required by state regulations.
The task force said it clarified to landfill operators that each new load of chicken carcasses should be covered immediately with dirt, not trash. State Veterinarian Richard Breitmeyer said a dirt burial was the scientifically accepted practice for disposing of any dead animal.
Rex Richardson, media specialist for the solid waste management division of San Bernardino County's Public Works department, said that, as of Jan. 22, dirt burial of chickens became the procedure at Mid-Valley.
Hickman said he was determined to persuade the task force that compacted trash would work. His success came just in time for the El Sobrante Landfill on Monday to begin burying about 250,000 chickens euthanized at a Norco farm owned by Norco Ranch, one of Southern California's largest egg producers and marketers.
"I created a video and told them (federal and state agricultural authorities) what modern landfills were capable of doing," Hickman said. He added that if a dirt cover had been required, the landfill couldn't have accepted the birds.
Reach Leslie Berkman at (909) 893-2111 or lberkman@pe.com
The Press-Enterprise - CA
Man fights flock killing
NORCO: Randy Walker is appealing the state's defense against exotic Newcastle disease.
01/31/2003
By PAIGE AUSTIN
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
REF: http://www.pe.com/localnews/corona/stories/PE_NEWS_ncbird31.58620.html
NORCO - Randy Walker this week became Norco's first resident to fight the state in its plans to kill birds believed to be infected with exotic Newcastle disease.
Walker is among only a handful of people who have sought to appeal the state's depopulation plans since the outbreak hit Southern California in October. He has a backyard flock of 200 birds.
"Living in the hot zone doesn't have to be the kiss of death," said Walker, whose chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks and emus live in the Mountain Avenue area where multiple flocks have been killed in recent days.
According to Walker, a task force worker with the California Department of Food and Agriculture told him that he had no right to appeal and threatened to have him arrested if he attempted to stop the killing.
City officials intervened on Walker's behalf, and the state has agreed to give him a hearing to examine the health of his flock for signs of the disease.
"We're not going to force anyone to have their birds euthanized," said Leticia Rico, California Department of Food and Agriculture spokeswoman. "We know it's traumatizing."
Anyone can appeal the process within 72 hours of having their flocks quarantined or being served for depopulation by calling (916) 654-0881, she said.
For Walker, it's worth the fight.
"There is no sign of sickness in my birds," Walker said. "I'm not looking for money. I'm not looking for reimbursement for my birds. I'm looking to keep my 11-year-old daughter's birds alive."
Reach Paige Austin at (909) 893-2106 or paustin@pe.com
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN
Disease outbreak is dire threat to poultry industry
By SARAH SHERBURN, sherburns@knews.com
January 31, 2003
REF: http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_1711315,00.html
For most people a three-week jaunt to California would be a vacation, but for retired University of Tennessee professor Robert Linnabary it is a trip to save the nation's poultry industry.
A task force of more than 1,000 state and federal employees as well as veterinarians and animal-health technicians are in quarantined areas of California trying to eradicate exotic Newcastle disease.
The outbreak began in October, and the task force is currently surveying farms and commercial properties to see whether the disease is present. Wherever it is found, the area is depopulated of poultry. Meat from the euthanized birds is not used in any manner.
The disease can affect all birds but has a very high mortality rate for poultry. Although humans can be carriers of the disease, they do not suffer any ill effects from it.
"It's a really serious disease if it spreads out," Linnabary said.
Linnabary said the poultry industry in Tennessee is "big and becoming moreso."
H. Charles Goan, a professor of animal science at UT, agreed. He said 750 poultry farms in the state generate about $390 million per year.
Steve Robbins from Homestead Inc., a poultry wholesaler in Knoxville, said chicken prices will "definitely go up" because of this disease.
Linnabary said the outbreak also will have a significant impact on the exportation of poultry to other countries. He said the disease could virtually shut down overseas sales of U.S. poultry.
Direct costs, including compensation to the farmers, who have lost more than 1 million birds thus far, also will have an impact.
"The cost is going to be several million dollars," Goan said.
Tennessee state veterinarian Ron Wilson said at least three veterinarians and at least three animal-health technicians from Tennessee are in the California task force, and more will be going there this week.
"It will be a relatively long-term effort," he said.
Although Wilson believes the task force will eradicate the disease, he offered some precautions for poultry owners.
"If you have back yard poultry, be very careful in introducing new birds (to the flock)," he said.
Also, owners should know the background and previous contacts for each new bird, he said.
Officials are unsure how the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease began, and Linnabary said the cause may never be known.
Copyright 2003, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Daily Bulletin - CA
Article Last Updated: Thursday, January 30, 2003 - 1:43:12 AM MST
Newcastle: Affliction breeding suburban brawl
Eradication efforts stir anger in Norco
By NAOMI KRESGE
STAFF WRITER
REF: http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203%7E21481%7E1145221,00.html
A worker at Norco Ranch Inc. sprays down a truck headed onto the premises on
Tuesday January 28, 2003. The area has been placed under quarantine by the California
Department of Food and Agriculture to prevent the spread of exotic Newcastle Disease.
(Diana Mulvihill/Staff Photographer)
NORCO — Kimberly and Lee Lazan wanted to raise their boys in a country atmosphere, so they wrapped bird pens and a vegetable garden on the large lot around their house.
Across the street is Norco Ranch, a commercial egg farm with 250 employees and hundreds of thousands of chickens.
Exotic Newcastle disease recently struck the ranch and its neighbors. The Lazans blame state workers, who they say spread the virus while testing chickens.
Other neighbors blame the ranch itself. They're far more angry about the destruction of their pet birds than about the potential economic impact of exotic Newcastle at commercial poultry farms.
"In October, we had a lockdown on our birds," said Sue Swallow, a neighbor of Norco Ranch who has tussled with the exotic Newcastle disease task force about its actions in the past. "They're our pets, and we're being threatened by big business and illegal cockfighting."
Exotic Newcastle disease, first discovered in a backyard flock in El Monte, has resulted in the destruction of more than 1.5 million birds across Southern California. The entire bird populations of commercial egg ranches -- some as large as 1 million birds -- have been targeted for destruction.
The disease and its effects have commercial and backyard ranchers alike worried about the future of their birds and their livelihood.
Some of the Lazans' few dozen chickens started dying about two weeks ago, and on Jan. 20, a team from the exotic Newcastle disease task force pulled up in a rental truck to euthanize the rest of their chickens, eight homing pigeons and a pair of peahens.
On Monday, Lazan watched from his front porch while a pair of rental trucks pulled out of Norco Ranch.
On Tuesday, a decontamination team hosed down the big rigs waiting in line at the ranch gate.
State officials and ranch management won't confirm that the facility is among the six Inland Empire commercial poultry farms affected by exotic Newcastle, although they say 240,000 chickens are being destroyed at a Riverside County location that has been quarantined since Jan. 21.
Norco city officials say they were notified Monday -- too late, they argue -- that eradication teams were working there. Neighbors had already pushed state officials about why the ranch hadn't been quarantined earlier at a town meeting Jan. 23.
"They told us they had targeted 250,000 birds in Riverside County, and they would only notify us if it was Norco, but they didn't notify us until it was well on its way," Mayor Harvey Sullivan said. "It kind of breaches a little bit of an agreement I thought we had with them."
The depopulation going on at Norco Ranch could affect the economy of the entire town.
The ranch is one of the largest employers in town, according to Norco City Manager Ed Hatzenbuhler. A change would be felt if it shuts down.
According to city Economic Development Director Brian Oulman, the ranch is the sixth largest employer in the city, according to city records. It pays $63,154 in property taxes, the ninth highest in the city.
Norco Ranch officials declined to comment on what course of action they will take.
"I did speak with one of their men, who led me to believe that they would come back after this disaster," Hatzenbuhler said, noting the conversation was over a week old. "At that point at least, they hadn't been told that they were going to kill the chickens."
At 6-M Egg Ranch in Fontana, owner David Landmesser said the task force destroyed eggs at the ranch he's run since 1965 before ultimately reversing themselves and finding it uncontaminated, leaving most of his birds intact.
He had planned to sell his farm even before the Newcastle scare. Landmesser, 68, plans to retire in August or September of this year after the sale to developers.
He would not disclose the names of the developers.
"It's time for me to quit," he said. "I started out in Norco in 1963 on a ranch, and there were 118 ranches in Norco. Today there's one, and it has Newcastle and I doubt if they'll repopulate it.
"It's kind of like the dairies. They disappeared too."
Naomi Kresge can be reached by e-mail atnaomi.kresge@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8553.
Dunsmuir News, CA
EXOTIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE MAY IMPACT SISKIYOU FAIR
Thursday, January 30, 2003
By MSL Staff
REF: http://www.mtshastalive.com/story.asp?HDR=15&FragID=23498
YREKA - Due to the severity of the Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) and the serious threat to the poultry industry in California, the Siskiyou Golden Fair will consider canceling the poultry division of the 2003 Siskiyou Golden Fair.
The issue will be taken up at the fair Board of Directors meeting on February 11 at 5 p.m.
"We never like to eliminate an entry division of any kind at our fair, however, the state Division of Fairs & Expositions is asking all fairs in California to suspend poultry shows for the 2003 fair season," said fair CEO Rebecca Weathers. "We want to give our past poultry exhibitors a chance to discuss the issue with us prior to a final decision being made."
Weathers said there were fewer than two dozen poultry exhibitors at last year's fair, but said all would be notified in advance of the meeting.
Earlier this month, Governor Gray Davis declared a state of emergency in the fight against END in California. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced expanded quarantine boundaries for END for all avian species as a result of the spread of the disease into commercial poultry flocks in southern California.
The expanded quarantine boundaries encompass the following counties with END-positive flocks: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernadino, and San Diego. The following non-infected counties were quarantined to allow for an adequate buffer zone around the END infected sites: Santa Barbara, Ventura, Imperial and Orange.
"We realize we are very far away from the END infected areas of the state, however, we are being cautious," Weathers said. "Our biggest fear is the disease being transported unknowingly by a member of the public to our fair and then all of our poultry entries would have to be destroyed and the fairgrounds and county put under quarantine."
For more information regarding the USDA quarantine, please call 916-857-6170 or for general information cal the END hotline at 800-491-1899. Information can also be found on the following websites: www.cdfa.ca.gov and www.aphis.usda.gov
For more information on the Siskiyou Golden Fair, please call 842-2767 visit the fair's website www.sisqfair.com The 2003 Siskiyou Golden Fair runs August 6-10.
The next two articles are a bit out of order date-wise but just added.
CFBF
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Counties plan poultry surveys
REF: http://www.cfbf.com/ffn/2003/ffn-01_28_03.html
The outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in Southern California will prompt a door-to-door survey of backyard poultry in 20 counties outside the quarantine region. County agricultural officials will conduct the survey beginning next month, throughout the San Joaquin Valley and other parts of the state. Exotic Newcastle disease started in such backyard flocks in Southern California last fall.
The Bakersfield Californian - CA
Avian virus search takes flight in Kern
By MARYLEE SHRIDER , Californian staff writer
e-mail: mshrider@bakersfield.com
Tuesday January 28, 2003, 06:55:03 PM
REF: http://www.bakersfield.com/business/story/2531333p-2583528c.html
Kern County agriculture officials will soon go door to door in a search for backyard poultry infected with Exotic Newcastle Disease, a deadly avian virus.
The virus, which poses no threat to humans but is highly contagious among birds, is already the scourge of eight quarantined counties in Southern California. Door-to-door surveys will start next month in 20 counties outside the quarantine region, including Kern.
Kern County Agricultural Commissioner Ted Davis said his office and other local agencies will join forces to ensure the disease doesn't find its way here.
"We'll be coordinating with other agencies like animal control, office of emergency services and public health," Davis said. "It will be a mammoth operation."
Davis said local officials are currently working with state and federal agricultural departments on funding for the Kern survey, which he estimates will cost up to $1.5 million. That figure includes the cost of extra staff and additional facilities.
"We would like this group and their vehicles to be isolated from general support staff," Davis said. "We want to prevent the possibility of cross contamination if we find the disease."
Ag officials have also begun to identify possible problem areas.
"We're getting the lay of the land so we can begin the survey process," Davis said. "We're locating our feed stores, flea markets -- the type of places that might sell birds."
Birds found with the virus are destroyed to prevent further spread of the disease. More than a million chickens have already been slaughtered at commercial poultry operations in Southern California. Davis hopes the local survey will help protect backyard birds as well as major egg producers like Farmer John Eggs in Bakersfield and Demler Enterprises in Wasco and Delano.
The survey, he said, should start in about a month and take six to nine months to complete.
Fresno Bee - CA
State tackles bird disease
Ag leaders meet in Fresno on ways to stop spread of Exotic Newcastle.
By Robert Rodriguez
The Fresno Bee
(Published Wednesday, January 29, 2003, 10:20 AM)
REF: http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/6018046p-6974012c.htmlState
Agricultural commissioners met with state and federal officials in Fresno on Tuesday, laying the groundwork for the battle to prevent the deadly Exotic Newcastle disease from spreading in the state.
The highly contagious poultry disease, which does not harm humans, has ravaged the Southern California poultry industry since October, resulting in the destruction of more than 1.7 million chickens and other poultry.
Gov. Davis and the federal government have declared a state of emergency across Southern California, and a quarantine against the movement of poultry products is in place in the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial.
Although the disease is not a danger to humans, and eggs and poultry are safe to eat, federal and state officials are working to keep Exotic Newcastle from moving north.
Fresno, Merced and Stanislaus counties are among the leaders in the state's $3 billion-a-year poultry industry.
Tuesday, 18 agricultural commissioners from throughout the state were briefed on several issues, including a plan to survey homes that have poultry and other birds.
The disease was discovered last year in a Southern California backyard poultry flock and has since spread to commercial operations.
Fresno County Agricultural Commissioner Jerry Prieto Jr. said that while the plans for the survey are still unfolding, county inspectors will likely be asking homeowners about the health of their animals and educating them about the disease.
If the owner of a backyard bird flock says his or her birds have been ill or have died, the information will be forwarded to a veterinarian for a follow-up.
Prieto wants to reassure backyard bird owners that county inspectors are not serving as code- or law-enforcement agents.
"All we want to know is if they have sick birds," Prieto said. "And if they do, we want to have [the birds] checked out. We want to do everything we can to stop this disease from coming here."
Prieto acknowledges that the county will not be able to survey everyone who raises chickens in a back yard. The survey will rely, however, on local agencies to help them identify people who may have backyard birds.
The federal government has agreed to pay for 17 temporary employees for each county to assist in the survey. Prieto does not expect the survey to start until the end of February or early March.
Prieto said the surveyors will likely start in the areas surrounding the county's commercial poultry operations.
Fresno County poultry rancher Gary Daddino supports the effort to keep track of the backyard birds, but he said that it is not enough to ease his fears.
"The whole situation makes me nervous," Daddino said. "If you get it, your entire livelihood for one year would be wiped out. I really hope they can contain it in Southern California."
Daddino, who sells chickens and eggs, said he has been more careful about from where and from whom he buys his chickens.
"Until this blows over, you can't be too careful," he said.
Major poultry producers, such as Zacky Farms in Fresno, have reinforced their security measures since the outbreak.
John Ross, Zacky's president and chief operating officer, said the company has strict control of access to its facilities and has communicated with its growers about the latest developments.
The reporter can be reached at brodriguez@fresnobee.com or 441-6327.
Los Angeles Times, CA
Inland Valley Voice
January 29, 2003
Briefs
Officials lower estimate of birds to be killed
State agriculture officials this week downgraded their estimate of how many birds will be destroyed at an unnamed Riverside County commercial egg ranch because it had a deadly avian disease.
The ranch is the sixth commercial ranch found with exotic Newcastle disease since the outbreak began in backyard flocks in October. A disease eradication task force member estimated Friday the ranch had 250,000 chickens, but that figure was dropped to 240,000 following a task force visit over the weekend, state agriculture department spokeswoman Leticia Rico said.
As of Monday, more than 7,300 backyards in six Southern California counties and Clark County, Nev., were quarantined. More than 1,200 people are working to test for the disease, eradicate infected or threatened flocks and sanitize sites where birds have been killed.
The task force has killed more than 1.4 million birds with nearly 400,000 more birds to be destroyed. The disease is not harmful to humans, officials said.
The Press-Enterprise, CA
Newcastle battle has an upside
JOBS: Officials open a new office. People are responding to hiring ads running in Inland papers.
01/29/2003
By MATT SURMAN
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
REF: http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_NEWS_nabirds29.57f16.html
COLTON - Paul Wilson wanted a job -- so he disinfected his shoes and enlisted in the Inland area's battle against exotic Newcastle disease.
Inside a new headquarters office in Colton, an Inland area beachhead has been established in the fight against a disease that if it were to spread could wreak havoc on the state's huge egg industry.
So far, 1.4 million birds have been killed on commercial ranches, and 78,000 have been killed in back yards in parts of San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles counties.
"We're doing a lot of work in this area," Mike Davidson, spokesman for the state Department of Forestry, said. "We've chosen to be close to where the work is."
CDF is handling the setup of the new office because of its experience in erecting virtual cities overnight in response to wildfires.
The office, which now has 400 employees, is expected to grow to as many as 1,600 people in just a few weeks, Davidson said.
Throughout the past week, people have been wandering into the lobby looking for jobs that could last up to six months of 12-hour days and six-day work weeks. The pay ranges from $9.38 to $10.38, depending on experience.
About 30 showed up Tuesday morning, in response to ads in local newspapers seeking temporary help from manual laborers. They were hoping to become "animal health aides," who could do everything from killing chickens to hosing down trucks.
Applicants like Wilson brushed their feet off on welcome mats in tubs of disinfectant, insurance against the spread of the disease.
Wilson's mother already had been hired to answer phones in the office. He said he was hoping to get a job as well. Since moving to Ontario from Long Beach two months ago, he has been working sporadically.
"Hopefully, I'm qualified for something. I'm just looking for work," he said.
And he was not at all squeamish about the job requirements.
"My family's from Oklahoma. I was raised in a farm atmosphere," he said. "If they've got diseases, they need to go."
State officials said they expect to open three more offices including a second one in Colton for people with "dirty" jobs that could spread infection and one at the former Norton Air Force Base. They are considering opening a third one near Little-rock, a rural town in Los Angeles County, which has had an outbreak of the disease.
At the new Colton office, Frankie Gurrola talked about his job, as a chicken inspector and translator. He was hired out of the Los Alamitos office.
He had already learned quite a bit.
"People take it very personally," he said, of having to kill people's chickens. "Having words misinterpreted is a big deal."
Some other things have just come naturally.
"I'm an animal helper," he said. "Dogs, horses, chickens: Everything is OK with me."
Reach Matt Surman at 890-4454 or msurman@pe.com
Pottstown Mercury, PA
Veterinarians to help Montco fight terrorism
Margaret Gibbons, Special to The Mercury January 29, 2003
REF: http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6857074&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6
NORRISTOWN -- The Montgomery County health department intends to enlist area veterinarians in the war against terrorism.
"When most people think of terrorism, they think of Sept. 11 or bio-terrorism such as anthrax or smallpox," said county Health Director Dr. Joseph M. DiMino. "But agro-terrorism is a very real danger in this country and county where farming still is one of the top industries."
Montgomery County had 44,500 acres of farmland spread among about 600 farms in 1999, according to the latest Pennsylvania agricultural statistics.
The sale of livestock, dairy products and crops generated $33 million for that same year, according to state statistics.
"It is much easier to start an epidemic among the animal population, where there is less surveillance, than in the human population," said Dr. Margaret Alonso, a veterinarian who is employed by the county health department.
While emphasizing that the current Exotic Newcastle disease epidemic on the West Coast cannot be attributed to terrorism, Alonso used the disease as an example of the havoc that such a virus can cause.
Until last year, the last major outbreak of the highly contagious disease was in 1971 when it struck commercial poultry flocks in southern California. Overall, 1,341 infected flocks or almost 12 million chickens had to be destroyed. Eradication efforts cost taxpayers $56 million, severely disrupted the operations of producers and increased the prices of poultry and poultry products to consumers, said Alonso.
The virus surfaced again last year, she said. Initially confined to California, there is now a report that the disease has been found in Nevada, according to Alonso.
There are 28 countries refusing to accept poultry products from California, and the European market has banned all poultry products from the United States, said Alonso.
"The rapid spread of diseases among livestock and poultry is scary," said DiMino.
Although many of these diseases do not impact humans, "they can wreak havoc with the economy," said DiMino.
Also, there are many diseases, viruses and bacteria such as "mad cow" disease, E. coli and listeria that can cause serious illness and even death among humans, DiMino said.
"Unlike bio-terrorism weapons such as smallpox, anthrax and Ebola, diseases, viruses and bacteria that attack livestock and crops are more readily accessible," said DiMino.
Surveillance in identifying these situations also is a problem, he said.
"Veterinarians often are not brought in until a farmer exhausts all measures of their own to address the problem," said Alonso. "This can be because a farmer simply cannot afford veterinarian services or because they fear that they will have to start killing off their animals. By that time, the disease is spreading."
In addition, there is very little coordinated communication among veterinarians and farmers from one county to another and one state to another, DiMino said.
DiMino said that Montgomery County is working with Chester County, which also has a large farm industry, to coordinate agro-terrorism efforts and define the health department’s role in such efforts.
The joint effort will be looking at at least three options. These options include:
• Information source for the public and professionals.
• Actively soliciting information from primary reporters such as veterinarians and farm agents and the state’s agricultural department to compile and analyze data.
• Investigational agent similar to that that parallels current reportable human disease functions.
"We have to be pro-active in this area because the earlier a problem surfaces, the quicker action can be taken and disaster avoided," DiMino said.
"We have to be prepared for anything," he said. "Who, until Sept. 11, ever thought people would hijack planes and crash them into buildings."
"Terrorism can come at us through our food and through our economy," said DiMino.
©The Mercury 2003
Portland Business Journal, OR
Oregon poultry growers put on alert
January 28, 2003
REF: http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2003/01/27/daily19.html
Respiratory congestion, coughing, sneezing and a runny nose are symptoms that seem to be temporarily afflicting the majority of office workers this winter. But those same symptoms in chickens are a little more serious.
And after chickens in California were diagnosed with deadly Exotic Newcastle Disease, or END, last October, nearly 2 million birds have been euthanized. That's why Oregon agriculture officials want the state's poultry producers—whose industry is worth nearly $100 million annually—to be aware of the symptoms of END.
In California, the disease was first diagnosed among small game fowl and backyard chicken flocks. "But in spite of intense biosecurity measures, including restricting bird traffic, depopulating infected flocks, door-to-door searches for infected birds and isolating commercial poultry flocks, the bad news came in late December," said James Hermes, poultry specialist with Oregon State University Extension Service. Virtually all types of birds are susceptible to END, a disease that does not affect human health, Hermes said.
And it spread rapidly through the poultry population. "END was found in a commercial flock of layers and has since been found in four more California flocks. In addition, it has been found in Nevada, near Las Vegas," he said.
"Exotic Newcastle Disease is well known by larger poultry producers," said Hermes.
The last major outbreak of the disease in California was in 1971, when 12 million birds were executed and producers realized an estimated loss of $56 million.
"It's mere mention sends shivers up the spines of even the most stalwart in the industry," Hermes said. "Though it is well known by producers for its devastating effect, this disease is virtually unknown to most people, including many in the agricultural sector."
"Backyard" producers, however, may be unaware of the disease. "All producers, large and small must isolate themselves from sources of infection, other flocks of birds," Hermes said. "Traffic from flock to flock is the most common method of spreading this disease. And many times, the small home flock of chickens will become infected with disease organisms, particularly END, before the commercial flock."
OSU recommends producers report sick or "fresh dead" birds to the OSU Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Corvallis. In addition to the cold-like symptoms mentioned above, END-infected birds may exhibit lethargy, head bobbing, neck twisting and malformed eggs.
For more information, call 541-737-3261 or 541-737-2254.
© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.
EU To Resume Most U.S. Poultry Imports
1/28/2003
by AgWeb.com Editors
REF: http://www.agweb.com/news_show_news_article.asp?file=AgNewsArticle_20031281353_1936&articleID=94800&newscat=GN
The European Union (EU) has agreed to resume imports of U.S. poultry except from Arizona, California and Nevada. The EU had banned all imports of U.S. poultry when Exotic Newcastle disease was discovered here.
"The importation of poultry and poultry products will be resumed, with the exception of Nevada, California and Arizona," EU Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne announced today.
The authorization to resume trade will become effective upon publication in the EU's Official Journal either Wednesday or Thursday.
The EU suspended all imports of U.S. poultry when the outbreak started in October in California, although such trade was fairly limited and is largely confined to hatching eggs and one-day-old chicks. The EU does not import other U.S. poultry products as dechlorination is used as a disinfection procedure prior to shipping and the EU does not deem that acceptable under their health regulations.
Seafood.com
EU Clears Import of Most U.S. Poultry
REF: http://www.seafood.com/news/current/86336.html
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS (Poultry) January 28, 2003 - By Ken Coons - The EU suspended all imports of U.S. poultry, regardless of their origin, following news of the outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease in California.
Today the European Union announced that it will resume imports of poultry products from all but three U.S. states.
According to a Reuters report, 'The importation of poultry and poultry products will be resumed, with the exception of Nevada, California and Arizona,' David Byrne told a news conference after a regular monthly meeting of the bloc's 15 agriculture ministers.
Reuters notes that the EU's import trade in U.S. poultry and poultry products is actually fairly limited and is largely confined to hatching eggs and one-day-old chicks.
The bloc does not import other U.S. poultry products as they are mostly dechlorinated, a disinfection procedure, before being transported, a process which is not acceptable under EU health regulations.
San Jose Business Journal, CA
10:18 EST Tuesday
January 28, 2003
Knock, knock. It's the poultry police
REF: http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2003/01/27/daily17.html
"While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
"As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this, and nothing more."
Were Edgar Allan Poe writing today, instead of a raven tapping at the door, he could be describing a door-to-door survey in 20 California counties where poultry inspectors will be looking for backyard flocks of chickens and other birds.
The outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in Southern California late last year has prompted the unusual dragnet which will involve counties north of an existing poultry quarantine zone that includes most of Southern California.
Exotic Newcastle disease is a flu-like illness fatal to poultry and which is incurable. To stop the disease, officials try quarantines and, failing that, the wholesale slaughtering of birds. So far, 1.7 million chickens have been dispatched.
The disease is not communicated to humans and does not affect the wholesomeness of eggs.
Canada and Mexico have banned importation of poultry from California because of the outbreak of the disease, which was first detected in backyard flocks in Southern California last fall.
© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.
San Jose Mercury News, CA, Contra Costa Times, CA
Posted on Tue, Jan. 28, 2003
Chickens destroyed in Riverside County in wake of polutry disease
Associated Press
REF: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5047921.htm
REF: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/5047921.htm
NORCO, Calif. - About 250,000 chickens were destroyed at one of Southern California's largest egg farms after testing positive for a disease that has forced the quarantine of the region's poultry.
A routine test conducted late last week at the farm turned up Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has required the slaughter of more than 1.7 million chickens since it was discovered in backyard flocks in September.
State agricultural officials who conducted the test wouldn't name the firm but Norco City Manager Ed Hatzenbuhler said the chickens were being killed at Norco Ranch, which houses about 3 million chickens. Eggs also were being destroyed as of Friday.
Mayor Harvey Sullivan said agricultural officials promised him that the city would be notified if any farms in Norco were found with the poultry virus. As of Monday, he said, no one had called him.
"It looks kind of bad when the mayor and the city manager and the animal control don't know what (state officials) are doing until some resident calls and inquires about it," he said.
Earlier this month, Gov. Gray Davis and the federal Department of Agriculture declared states of emergency across Southern California and expanded a quarantine zone for Exotic Newcastle Disease.
The quarantine prohibits the movement of all poultry, poultry products and nesting materials in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties.
The disease is usually fatal to poultry but will not harm humans. It can be transmitted through feces, feed, cages and other materials and can become airborne.
Since the outbreak, Canada temporarily stopped all shipments of poultry and poultry products from California. Mexico, the state's leading export market for poultry, enacted a similar ban.
The Press-Enterprise - CA
Ranch kills 250,000 chickens
NEWCASTLE: State and federal officials order the deaths to control the contagious avian disease.
01/28/2003
By STEFANIE FRITH and NICOLE BUZZARD
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
REF: http://www.pe.com/localnews/corona/stories/PE_NEWS_nceggs28.a18a8.html
NORCO - About 250,000 chickens have been destroyed at one of Southern California's largest egg farms, after exotic Newcastle disease was discovered through a routine testing last week, a state Department of Food and Agriculture official said Monday.
CDFA spokeswoman Leticia Rico would not confirm the name of the ranch, but Norco City Manager Ed Hatzenbuhler said the chickens were being killed at Norco Ranch on Mountain Avenue near Second Street.
It's the second egg ranch in Riverside County -- California's leading egg-producing county -- where the disease has been detected.
"They are in the process of killing them now," Hatzenbuhler said Monday afternoon.
State officials began killing the chickens and destroying eggs on Friday, Rico said.
Norco Mayor Harvey Sullivan complained that the city is not being kept informed about Newcastle developments as state and federal authorities had promised at a town hall meeting Thursday night in Norco.
He said he was told he would be notified by the Newcastle task force if a Norco ranch was discovered infected with the virus. But he said Hatzenbuhler was not informed until Monday afternoon.
"It looks kind of bad when the mayor and the city manager and the animal control don't know what (state officials) are doing until some resident calls and inquires about it," he said.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has been testing six commercial farms in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties for several months. About 2 million hens are marked for destruction as part of an eradication campaign. So far, more than 75,000 birds have been destroyed in back yards, where the current outbreak in disease was discovered in October.
Norco Ranch employs about 250 people and houses 3 million chickens.
Doug Austin, president of High Point Industries LLC, the product side of Norco Ranch, said the site has been quarantined for six weeks.
"An area of the ranch is off limits to us," he said Monday. "We're cooperating fully with the USDA and CDFA. They are the most thorough that I've worked with."
Lee Lazan, 44, lives across the street from the ranch on Mountain Avenue. He said he has been watching the ranch's efforts for weeks.
"Two weeks ago, they started washing the trucks with a high-powered hose," he said. "Then last week they put up tarps on all the fences, and that same week another neighbor saw a couple trucks loaded up with dead chickens."
Lazan's own chickens were killed earlier this month because of Newcastle infestation.
Exotic Newcastle disease is usually fatal to chickens. Officials say the eggs and meat of infected birds will not harm humans, but direct contact with the virus can cause pinkeye in people.
Reach Stefanie Frith at (909) 893-2114 or sfrith@pe.com. Reach Nicole Buzzard at (909) 893-2107 or nbuzzard@pe.com
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