Media Coverage
April 11, 2003 to April 20, 2003
Most Current is Listed First
Media Coverage - Main Page


Union-Tribune, CA

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/sun/metro/news_1mi20bird.html

Avian owners discuss how to protect pets from sickness
Newcastle has forced officials to kill 3.4 million in S. California
By Dwight Daniels
STAFF WRITER
April 20, 2003

Exotic bird owners, worried their pets could become infected with exotic Newcastle disease, met with avian experts yesterday to discuss measures they can take to combat infections.

Organizers of the afternoon event also decried state and federal government authorities with the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force, saying its members have been using unfair tactics, confiscating and euthanizing pets in California communities in an effort to eradicate Newcastle outbreaks.

While the deadly, flulike disease most often affects poultry, it can also affect parrots, macaws, and other pet species.

Across Southern California, officials have destroyed about 3.4 million birds already, attempting to quell further outbreaks of the disease that could ruin the state's $3 billion egg and poultry business.

In San Diego County, at least seven poultry farms, including sites in Valley Center and Ramona, have been hit by Newcastle infections since the first case was reported last December.

Seventeen cases have been reported in backyard flocks or in pet birds in those towns, and in Escondido since then.

It is among the latest serious outbreak in chicken flocks since 1971. Then, 12 million chickens were destroyed, and the state spent $56 million over three years to quell the epidemic.

An exotic bird outbreak started in Alpine in 1977, causing more than 1,000 birds to be destroyed in homes and in two dozen pet stores throughout the county.

In the latest outbreak, bird aficionados and groups sued Gov. Gray Davis in March to stop task force officials from arbitrarily killing pet or show birds throughout the state.

"People really have been storm-trooped ... (sic) there really have been some atrocities going on," said Daina Castellano of the Parrot Society of Los Angeles.

She described one case in Mira Loma in which task force members, armed with a warrant, reportedly broke through a woman's back gate, grabbed a pet rooster, hens and a couple of ducks, and gassed them on the spot.

Castellano spoke to about 80 local bird enthusiasts at the Marina Village Conference Center, telling them such confiscations occur within 1 kilometer of infected or thought-to-be infected birds.

No one with the State Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture could be reached yesterday.

But task force authorities have argued that such measures must be taken to halt the virus before it spreads.

"Being on this task force has been depressing because I have been trained to save animals," veterinarian Annette Whiteford recently told the Los Angeles Times. "Now my mission is to save animals by killing animals."

Birds are infected by droppings, contact with diseased birds or people who have touched the virus or equipment and vehicles traveling in areas where the virus is found.

Humans aren't harmed by the disease, except for possibly contracting conjunctivitis or pink eye.

Symptoms of the disease in birds include greenish, watery diarrhea, drooped wings, sneezing, coughing and gasping, decreased egg production, and sudden death.

"This disease is not pretty," Whiteford said.

"If you live within that one kilometer (quarantine) area, and it has a feather, it is dead," Castellano said, saying testing should be required first.

One man, a Vietnam War veteran, said he would not let anybody near his pet.

"I never had kids and he is my boy," he said, declining to give his name. "I would defend my family. . . . That's how strongly I feel about this."

Attendees also heard about things to do to show a task force inspector necessary precautions have been taken to avoid potential infections. Measures include "bio-security" steps, much like hospital infection-control

techniques. "Most of it is common sense," said Jim Adlhoch, a registered nurse. "We are bird people and we like bird people. But don't have other bird people over to your house."

Jan Henker of Fallbrook said she and her husband already have taken steps to protect her gray parrot, Tootsi.

"We change when we get home in our garage," she said if they have visited anywhere an avian virus might be. "It's for his sake."

The bird, she said, is a member of the family.

"He rules the house," she said of the pet she calls "Charger bird."

The 8-year-old parrot can shout "Go Chargers" and answers the question: "Are you ready for some?" with "Football!"

She also tends a neighbor's pet birds, and the neighbor tends hers.

"We aren't worried . . . yet," Henker said. "But it could happen. You want all the information you can have. PEAC (Parrot Education and Adoption Center) is a great place to find that information."

The organization's Web site is www.peac.org.

Dwight Daniels: (619) 542-4599; dwight.daniels@uniontrib.com
Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.



North County Times, Ca

http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030420/64249.html

Newcastle won't change egg prices, experts say
KATHRYN GILLICK
Staff Writer

There's a surprising answer for shoppers who wonder how much more eggs will cost because of the chicken-killing Exotic Newcastle disease: not a cent.

Low producer prices and high supermarket markups give retailers ample room to absorb the cost, said a prominent egg economist and others familiar with the industry.

Exotic Newcastle, which is 90 percent to 100 percent fatal in chickens, has resulted in the killing of more than 3.4 million birds, most of them laying hens, in five Southern California counties since October of last year.

Those birds represent 25 percent of Southern California's laying hens, according to Don Bell, an egg economist with the University of California Agricultural Extension program in Riverside. Bell said the dead chickens made up 12 percent of California's laying hens and 1 percent of the nation's.

Two costs

Bell said that egg prices operate on two levels: the amount the farmer is paid for eggs and how much consumers spend in the store.

At the beginning of 2003, farmers were paid 43 cents a dozen for large eggs, which was 6 cents below production costs, Bell said. He said the price to producers rose in early February ----- to 65 cents per dozen ----- but that it dropped again quickly. By Feb. 3, he said, it was down to 57, and by Feb. 10, it was 47 cents per dozen.

"It has nothing to do with Newcastle's," he said. "It has to do with very predictable cycles."

Exotic Newcastle disease was first found in California in October when birds from a backyard flock tested positive. Since then, it has been found in 22 commercial flocks and in hundreds of backyard flocks.

In San Diego County, the disease has been found in seven egg ranches. They are Ramona Egg Ranch; the Armstrong Egg ranches on Cole Grade, Lilac and Mac Tan roads in Valley Center; Foster Enterprises, also known as Gross Ranch, on Cole Grade Road in Valley Center; the Fluegge Egg Ranch, on Twain Way in Valley Center; and Ward Egg Ranch on Fruitvale Road in Valley Center.

More than 450,000 birds in the county have been killed because of the disease. If, as Bell said, 22 dozen eggs are lost for every chicken taken out of the market, the county is producing 9.9 million fewer dozen because of the disease. Southern California has lost 66 million dozen.

He said the average cost of producing a dozen large eggs is 51 cents per dozen.

The high cost of production and low market price have caused farmers to lose money every year since 1999, Bell said.

But, he said, the low price the farmers get doesn't mean that the consumers pay less.

In the stores

"The supermarket is on a totally different scale of what they charge because they charge anything they want," he said.

"The markup is totally unrelated to the price the farmer gets," he said. "In the old days, if the farm price moved 5 cents up, well, the retailer would exhibit higher prices to the consumer. It used to be that the farmer got about 55 percent of the retail price. Today in California he's lucky if he gets 25 percent of the retail price."

He said the retail price of eggs stopped being tied to the cost of production in the early 1980s when an avian flu caused a shortage of eggs and the producer price shot up.

"When the whole thing was over," Bell said, "the rest of the country went back to their normal price relationships and California stayed where they were."

Funny pricing?

Consumers upset over the high price of eggs in the market sued the major grocery chains in 1996. The suit, which was brought by Oceanside resident Carrie O'Husky and Sheri McCampbell of Hermosa Beach, charged that Vons Co., Ralphs Grocery Co., and Lucky Stores Inc. conspired to fix egg prices.

An attorney for the women said that the alleged agreement between grocers had cost Southern California shoppers an extra $89,733,000 in higher egg prices between Sept. 13, 1992, and Oct. 3, 1997.

After the suit was filed, Kroger Co., the largest U.S. grocery chain, purchased Ralphs, Lucky was purchased by Albertson's Inc., and Vons was purchased by Safeway Inc.

A jury ruled against the plaintiffs in 1999.

In March 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that consumers in Southern California paid between $1.99 and $2.09 for eggs at major grocery stores. At a Kroger grocery store in Cincinnati that same month, a dozen Grade A large eggs cost 99 cents.

Prices still high

Not much has changed since the lawsuit was filed, with California still selling eggs at a higher price than most other states.

A brief survey of North County grocery stores last week showed that a dozen large eggs at Albertson's on West Valley Parkway in Escondido cost $2.19. At Henry's Marketplace in Poway, a clerk said a dozen large eggs were $2.29. At Vons in Carlsbad, they were $2.19.

At a Safeway store in Flagstaff, Ariz., a clerk said a dozen large eggs cost $1.19 last week.

Calls to Krogers and Albertson's were not returned. A spokesman from Vons said the company does not discuss pricing issues.

The price of eggs at small, community markets in North County were lower than the chain stores. At Ash and Washington Liquor Store in Escondido a dozen large eggs cost 99 cents. At Twin Oaks Market and Deli in San Marcos, they were also 99 cents.

Farmers' reaction mixed

Charley Steiner, owner of Swiss Mountain View Egg Farm in Ramona, said the price of eggs at chain stores makes him "furious."

"The egg prices are exorbitant compared to what the farmers are being paid and the producer price," he said.

He said that he did not think Exotic Newcastle would have an effect on the price producers get for their eggs or on what consumers pay in the market.

Steiner, who has produced eggs in Ramona for 33 years, said he does not sell to grocery chains. Instead, he said, about 25 percent of his eggs are sold to Challenge Dairy and are then resold to restaurants and hotels.

"I don't know if the eggs were more reasonably priced in the big stores," he said, "if people would buy a lot more, but I don't like to see the customer being charged so much for something."

Not all egg ranchers are upset by the grocery chain pricing.

Paul Bahan, owner of AAA Egg Ranch in the San Joaquin Valley, said he could understand why stores have such a high markup on eggs.

"I think they all have come to understand that this is one area of the market where they can manage to make a pretty decent profit margin," Bahan said. "The price of these products, unless they change dramatically, unless they go way up, doesn't really affect how much people buy."

As for whether chain stores are actively fixing prices, Bahan, who said he owns approximately 750,000 chickens, said he's skeptical.

"I don't think it's the kind of out-and-out, backroom 'hey if we all get together and set that price at $1.80, we'll all get it,'" he said. "It's not that kind of thing because one thing about eggs is, the stores will feature them a lot. You can sell them cheap and still make money on them and draw people into the store."

As for how Newcastle will affect producer or retail price, Bahan said, "I don't think, at this point, that Newcastle's going to affect the price of eggs very much. I'm not sure today that you could say it has at all."

Contact staff writer Kathryn Gillick at (760) 740-5412 or kgillick@nctimes.com.

4/20/03



North County Times, CA

http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030419/62945.html

DA asks for more information in chicken chipping case
KATHRYN GILLICK
Staff Writer
The chicken chipping case isn't over.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced this week that the final decision about whether to press charges against egg ranchers who put thousands of live chickens into a wood chipper in February would not be made until she had more information.

The announcement came seven days after the district attorney's office said it would not press charges against Bill Wilgenburg, owner of Ward Egg Ranch in Valley Center. That decision was based, in part, on the belief that using a chipper to kill chickens is "a standard industry practice," said Gail Stewart, a district attorney spokeswoman.

However, that method is not approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association, spokeswoman Gail Golab said Thursday. The American Veterinary Medical Association represents 68,000 veterinarians.

Golab said a similar machine is used to kill chicks, but no machine is approved for adult birds.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Silva, the county's agriculture prosecutor, was in charge of the case. She did not return phone calls.

After Silva decided not to press charges against Wilgenburg, there was an outcry from animal rights activists around the country.

The Humane Society of the United States and the United Poultry Concerns Inc. were among the organizations that wrote letters urging Dumanis to reconsider the case.

Poultry Concerns' president, Karen Davis, said Thursday that she was pleased that the DA has asked for more interviews.

"I'm hoping that this case will be reopened," she said.

In a February interview, Wilgenburg admitted to putting about 15,000 chickens, thousands still alive, into the chipper. He said the decision to mulch the chickens was made after consulting with a veterinarian.

Wilgenburg said he had no choice but to kill the chickens because of rules imposed by the federal-state Task Force on Newcastle Disease.

Wilgenburg said he was not permitted to ship the chickens, which he said were not diseased, to his other farm in Potrero, and he was forbidden to send them to a Central Valley slaughterhouse. Task force officials conceded that Wilgenburg had been given no alternative but to kill his chickens.

Wilgenburg said he stopped putting live chickens in the mulcher after a county animal services representative contacted a manager at his Potrero farm, where chickens were also being chipped.

"They told us that we had to wring their necks or kill them with (carbon dioxide)," he said. So, he said, they started breaking the chickens' necks first.

Exotic Newcastle disease, which has a mortality rate of between 90 percent and 100 percent in poultry, has hit seven commercial farms in San Diego County since December and 22 commercial farms statewide since October. It is carried in the mucus or feces of infected birds and does not affect humans.

The disease spreads so quickly, task force officials said, that they have to kill every bird at an infected site, even if only a few test positive for the disease. More than 2 million birds have been killed in California because of the outbreak.

The San Diego County farms affected are Ramona Egg Ranch; Armstrong Egg ranches on Cole Grade, Lilac and Mac Tan roads in Valley Center; Foster Enterprises on Cole Grade Road in Valley Center; Fluegge Egg Ranch on Twain Way in Valley Center; and the Ward Egg Ranch on Fruitvale Road.

Wilgenberg said the chickens that tested positive at the Ward Egg Ranch did not belong to him. He sold the farm shortly before killing all of his chickens. Wilgenburg said that birds that tested positive belonged to the farm's new owner.

Contact staff writer Kathryn Gillick at (760) 740-5412 or kgillick@nctimes.com.

4/19/03



San Antonio Express, TX

http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=982972

Cascarones face border crackdown
By Jeorge Zarazua
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 04/19/2003 12:00 AM

LAREDO — Citing concerns about a highly contagious and fatal poultry disease, U.S. authorities this week cracked down on cascarones, adding the confetti-filled Fiesta staple to a list of prohibited items coming from Mexico.

The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday began confiscating cascarones at all checkpoints along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The eggshell embargo is in response to an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease, a deadly virus that affects nearly all species of birds.

The disease is not a threat to humans, but it has ravaged the poultry industry in California, where more than 3.5 million birds on farms and commercial businesses have been destroyed since last fall.

"I realize it's a popular Easter tradition on the border, but we're also trying to protect our agricultural industry," said Rick Pauza, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman. "There is a larger purpose for this."

Pauza said eggshells are being seized at border crossings as a precaution. The U.S. Agriculture Department already has issued quarantines banning the movement of birds and poultry in Southern California and some counties in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture extended the quarantine to El Paso and five surrounding counties after 30 gamecocks were found dead in a backyard flock.

The disease, also known as velogenic viscerotropic Newcastle disease, spreads rapidly and often isn't detected until the infected bird dies.

Besides from being found in unclean eggshells, the virus can be picked up on clothing, shoes and skin.

Debbie Lindsey-Opel, a spokeswoman for H.E. Butt Grocery Company, said H-E-B stores sells cascarones from Mexico, but that the colorful eggshells were imported before the ban.

"Our shipments came in January, so any kind of recent action would not have an impact," Lindsey-Opel said, adding that Customs and Border officials inspected the cascarones before they were allowed to enter the country.

She said the company also conducts routine tests on all of its products to ensure they are safe and free of disease.

By midday Friday, Pauza said inspectors had confiscated more than five garbage bags full of cascarones at the border checkpoints in Laredo.

Sales of cascarones peak during the Easter holidays when they are cracked over people's heads. The colorful confetti shower is said to bring luck and good fortune.



Brownsville Herald, TX

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/sections/archive/topstoryjmp/4-19-03/News3.htm

Eggshells banned from crossing border
Reason: Officials hope to contain poultry-related disease.
By J. NOEL ESPINOZA
The Brownsville Herald
April 19, 2003

Maria Sanchez was planning to go to Matamoros on Friday and buy a load of empty eggshells to make some Easter cascarones — or confetti-filled eggs.

That was before she found out the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had banned empty eggshells from crossing the border in an effort to prevent the spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease.

Federal officials said END, which affects all species of birds, is one of the most infectious and deadliest poultry diseases in the world. It is harmless to humans.

"Cascarones are cheaper across the border," Sanchez said. "That’s why I usually go to Matamoros. I guess I can’t do that anymore. With a large family, the savings are significant when buying cascarones in Matamoros."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in February issued a federal quarantine covering certain California counties to prevent the spread of END, which is believed to have killed more than 3.7 million chickens across the country. The quarantine was extended on April 11 to several counties in Texas and New Mexico.

Federal officials said Customs and Border Protection inspectors at ports and land borders have been instructed to confiscate and destroy empty eggshells, including shells filled with confetti.

On Friday, USDA officials displayed bags filled with empty eggshells they confiscated at cross-border bridges here in recent days.

Luis Ramos, a department supervisor at Gateway International Bridge, said the department usually burns the empty eggshells.

"We confiscated four to five bags during the day and last night," Ramos said. "We get rid of it right away."

Rick Pauza, a spokesman with the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, said the agency has seized lots of eggshells lately, including cascarones that were bought in Mexico for the Easter holiday.

"We have seen a lot of cascarones being confiscated lately," Pauza said. "There is a combination of people who bring the cascarones for commercial purposes and people who buy them for their own families."



KOLR, MO

http://www.kolr10.com/Global/story.asp?S=1240028&nav=0RXJFKOh

State Warns of Disease Spreading in Chickens

State agriculture officials are asking Missourians not to bring live birds from Texas and New Mexico into the state.

The request issued Wednesday by the state Agriculture Department comes on the heels of a confirmed case of Exotic Newcastle Disease in a backyard flock of chickens near El Paso, Texas. It follows a warning in February against bringing in birds from California and Nevada, the two other states known to have the disease.

State and federal officials destroyed the Texas flock and quarantined five counties in Texas and New Mexico, an area known for significant movement of birds and poultry. The quarantine has been imposed so disease surveillance, testing and diagnosis can be conducted.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a contagious and fatal viral disease affecting all species of birds, but it is not a threat to humans, said Taylor Woods, the state veterinarian.

"It is critical that poultry producers and bird dealers take every precaution to prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease into Missouri," Woods said.

The disease can spread by many means, including by air, through eggs and through travel. Clinical signs can vary, but they include coughing and sneezing, nervous signs such as walking in circles and paralysis, high mortality and decreased egg production.

(The Associated Press)



Houston Chronicle, TX

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/1874592

April 18, 2003, 11:40PM
Bird quarantine broadened in attempt to halt disease
Associated Press

AUSTIN -- The Texas Animal Health Commission has broadened a bird quarantine in El Paso County as the agency seeks to halt the spread of a deadly bird virus known as Exotic Newcastle Disease.

El Paso County was one of five counties affected by an April 10 quarantine that prohibited the movement of birds out of El Paso and Hudspeth counties in Texas and Otero, Luna and Dona Ana counties in New Mexico.

On Wednesday, the agency declared that not only should poultry or birds not be moved out of El Paso County, they should not be moved within the county. The revised quarantine prohibits moving birds from pet stores, taking birds from one residence to another, taking birds to shows or exhibitions, moving birds for breeding or moving birds from feed stores or suppliers.

Exotic Newcastle Disease was confirmed April 9 in a backyard flock near El Paso.

A joint team of veterinarians and animal health inspectors from state and federal agencies in Texas and New Mexico made "house calls" this week within a two-mile radius of the infected flock, tracing all movements from the infected flock, but found no evidence the virus had spread, officials said.



KXTS-TV, TX

http://www.ktsm.com/news/story.ssd?c=45083afa3da64abb

LOCAL NEWS
NEWSCHANNEL 9

Poultry protection hurts wildlife.

AN UPDATE ON A STORY YOU HEARD FIRST HERE ON NEWSCHANNEL 9. THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HEALTH HAS BROADENED ITS QUARANTINE OF BIRDS IN EL PASO COUNTY. IT MEANS BIRDS MAY NOT BE MOVED ANYWHERE INTO, OUT OF OR WITHIN ELPASO COUNTY. THE RULE IS DESIGNED TO PROTECT CHICKENS.....BUT SOME SAY IT'S HURTING WILDLIFE.

Friday, April 18, 2003 -- Carol Miller is a rehabilitator with the Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife Rescue. It's a group that rescues injured wild animals and nurses them back to health. A lot of those animals are birds.

Carol Miller: "last year we rescued more than two thousand birds and wild animals." And one bird she would like to rescue is an American Coot at the Keystone Wetlands in the Upper Valley.

Carol Miller: "this one is limping and probably broke its foot."

But the Texas Animal Health Commission says she must leave the bird where it is. To protect the poultry industry the Commission says no birds in El Paso County can be moved from where they are found. They're afraind it could spread Exotic Newcastle Disease which is deadly to chickens and other birds.

Carol Miller: "I know they're trying to protect the poultry industry but they're going a little overboard, because they're damaging wildlife at the same time."

She says the rule should be modified so rescuers can do their job

Carol Miller: Newcastle disease doesn't spread in the air so it can't be here.(at the Keystone wetland site.)

So what should you do if you find an injured bird, or a baby bird that needs help?

Carol Miller: "I'm afraid right now just let it die...leave it and let it die."

THE DISEASE DOES NOT AFFECT HUMANS OR OTHER ANIMALS...ONLY BIRDS. THE RULE PROHIBITS BIRDS FROM BEING MOVED FROM PET STORES, FROM ONE RESIDENCE TO ANOTHER; AND YOU CANT TAKE BIRDS TO SHOWS.

IF YOU FIND AN INJURED BIRD...CAROL MILLER SUGGESTS YOU CALL 859-9446 OR 1800-550-8242. These are numbers for the Texas Animal Health Commission.



San Diego Union Tribune, CA

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20030418-9999_2m18chip.html

DA to continue inquiry of two poultry ranches
Sites used chippers to kill old chickens
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 18, 2003

After receiving calls, letters and e-mails from across the country, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis yesterday decided to continue investigating two poultry ranches where workers dumped thousands of live chickens into wood chippers.

Investigators will conduct additional interviews so Dumanis can decide whether to reverse an earlier decision not to prosecute ranch owners Arie and Bill Wilgenburg for animal cruelty.

Gail Stewart, district attorney spokeswoman, said Dumanis decided to reconsider after she received a letter from the Humane Society of the United States.

"We don't know if she's going to change her mind, but at this point she's making every effort to make sure every stone is turned over," Stewart said.

Last week, the District Attorney's Office announced that the Wilgenburgs, owners of the Escondido-based Ward Poultry Farm, were not acting with criminal intent when they used wood chippers to destroy old unproductive hens at their ranches in Valley Center and Potrero in February. The Wilgenburgs were following the advice of a veterinarian, prosecutor Elisabeth Silva said.

Bill Wilgenburg said last week that he and his brother had few options for getting rid of old unproductive hens. He has been prohibited from moving them to a Northern California "kill facility," he said, because of a quarantine for exotic Newcastle disease, a fatal avian virus, in Southern California. He said he was following the advice of experts, who told him it was an acceptable thing to do.

Investigators with the county Department of Animal Services said at least 30,000 chickens at each ranch were destroyed, and most were alive when put into the chippers. The machines, typically used by tree removal companies, have blades on rapidly spinning disks or drums that cut branches into small chips.

In announcing the decision not to pursue the case, Silva said the use of wood chippers was one of several methods used by the poultry industry to destroy large numbers of birds. Animal Services investigators said they were told other farmers had used wood chippers to reduce their flocks in the past.

Since then, details of the case have circulated on the Internet and have been distributed by news services. Animal welfare organizations have urged members to protest the decision by calling, faxing and e-mailing Dumanis' office. Silva and Stewart said yesterday they had received many calls and letters.

"This is kind of a macabre case of animal cruelty, and its vividness has galvanized concern," said Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States.

One group after another has declared that it does not condone the use of wood chippers for destroying chickens, Pacelle said.

"All of the major groups and organizations, from industry to government to veterinary groups, are saying they would have nothing to do with an endorsement of this killing method," he said.

Yesterday, the Humane Society and The Fund for Animals, through the organizations' joint HUMANELines newsletter, urged about 30,000 members to ask Dumanis to reverse her office's decision.

"There's a reason the movie 'Fargo' is unforgettable," Pacelle said of the movie that includes a scene of a killer pushing a victim's body into a wood chipper. "Feeding animals into a wood chipper is grotesque."

Elizabeth Fitzsimons: (760) 737-7578; elizabeth.fitzsimons@uniontrib.com



Modesto Bee, CA

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/6575324p-7515623c.html

That piece of mail's got a tail
By JUDY SLY
BEE LOCAL COLUMNIST
Published: April 18, 2003, 07:01:26 AM PDT

It's oversimplification, I know, but the information gluttony really sifts down to three levels: The things we absolutely need to know, such as a red light means stop.

The things we should know, such as the name of our congressman and the fattiest foods.

The things that are not at all critical but consume most of our conversations.

Today's column clearly falls in the third level. The topic: sending birds through the mail.

I'm as serious as you can be about a subject like this.

If you raise chickens or ducks or doves or peacocks, and you need to get them from Point A to Point B, you have only a couple of choices: haul them yourself or send them through the U.S. mail.

This happens to be the most popular time of year to mail birds. It's chick season -- spring, Easter and all that -- and it's warmed up from freezing in many parts of the country and is not yet hot in places like Modesto. Hence, it's a relatively safe time for bird transport.

This is very important to someone like Joe Dias of Patterson, who raises and sells peacocks. He takes great care in shipping a bird, wrapping its tail to avoid cracking and carefully placing it in a 28-inch container.

Some shippers put an apple in the container. Joe doesn't think it's necessary; birds do pretty well without water or food in the 24 hours or so it can take them to get across country as express mail.

The Postal Service has specific regulations for mailing fowl. The rules are sandwiched in the giant book between the policies for shipping bees and the restrictions on sending live scorpions. Just about every critter off the ark is covered, from baby alligators to worms.

The fowl rules seem sensible. Containers must be designed "to remain intact during normal postal processing." Sure, they don't want escapees, like a recent incident in Sacramento in which worker bees fled their queen and tormented the worker humans.

The containers must be "constructed to totally confine the adult chickens." The postal workers get pecked on enough.

"Contain shavings or other absorbent material to prevent damage to the bottom of the container." No explanation necessary.

"Be ventilated properly to ensure humane treatment of the adult chickens while in transit." Sure, we don't want PETA after the USPS.

Local bird people know the particulars. They know that birds get shipped midweek, so they arrive before the weekend. They know to call Sacramento to confirm that the Postal Service is prepared to handle birds that day. They know they have to get their birds to the local post office before 10 a.m.

The fowl business is relatively small. A supervisor for the Sacramento region, which includes us, says they handle 12 to 15 containers a week during the spring.

This is an unusually slow year for bird mail because of exotic Newcastle disease, the deadly ailment affecting fowl.

But there are still birds en route, and if you arrive at the post office at the right time, you can hear them.

A supervisor at Hudson Station, in northeast Modesto, says it sometimes sounds like a barnyard in back, specifically when there's a shipment of roosters complaining about their confinement.

Postal workers have suspicions about some of the aggressive roosters that pass through, but it's not their job to interrogate the owners.

Most of the shipments, however, are perfectly legit, such as those of Joe Dias. He's mailed peacocks as far as New York and Puerto Rico and never lost a bird.

Judy Sly's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays in Local News. She can be reached at 578-2334.



Ventura County Star, CA

http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/opinion/article/0,1375,VCS_125_1897544,00.html

Editorial: Let task force go about work
Newcastle epidemic must be halted
April 18, 2003

The last time an exotic strain of Newcastle disease virus made its way into California, it cost the state $56 million to eradicate and resulted in the destruction of nearly 12 million chickens and other birds. Memories of that 1971 outbreak hover in the background today, as the state tries to fight off another invasion.

Although it poses no threat to human health, exotic Newcastle disease is deadly to all birds -- wild geese, pet parrots, commercially grown chickens, it doesn't matter; END is virulent and untreatable, and the mortality rate among captive flocks approaches 100 percent.

Although every pet bird in California is potentially at risk, the disease is of particular concern to the state's $3 billion-a-year poultry industry, which could be wiped out if the epidemic is not checked.

As an audience of about 100 people learned at a town meeting Monday night in Simi Valley, that eradication will not be easy. And it will require cooperation from those who may think they have no stake in the effort, particularly pet owners.

That cooperation should be provided graciously. At the same time, those conducting the eradication effort must take pains to be sensitive to the concerns of private bird owners who fear their beloved pets might be sacrificed without cause merely to protect poultry-industry profits.

Ventura is one of six Southern California counties where the disease has been found since the current outbreak began in October (it also has turned up in Nevada, Texas and Arizona).

Since there is no treatment -- and because birds often die suddenly of the disease without displaying any symptoms -- the airborne virus spreads easily and can only be stopped through quarantine and euthanization.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture has a task force in charge of the eradication effort in California. It has drawn fire from some pet-owner groups for sending eradication teams into neighborhoods without providing persuasive evidence that the disease has been found anywhere in the vicinity. Critics also accuse the task force of eagerly trampling privacy rights.

The fact, however, is that the disease is here. The only way to stop it is to keep it from spreading by imposing a quarantine and then killing the birds that have been exposed. That means pet parakeets as well as commercial poultry flocks.

The virus doesn't discriminate on the basis of an owner's emotional attachment to the bird in question, and neither can the task force. It should carry out its unhappy task sensitively, but it must be allowed to do its work.



El Paso Times

http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20030418-102516.shtml

Bird virus crushes cascarones imports
Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times

Cascarones entering the United States are being confiscated and incinerated by U.S. border inspectors because of a deadly bird disease in El Paso, California and elsewhere.

Cascarones, empty eggshells filled with confetti, are a popular Mexican Easter tradition. But the eggshell could carry the exotic Newcastle disease virus found in roosters in Socorro two weeks ago.

"It is just almost customary for the two communities (of El Paso and Juárez) to celebrate Easter here on the border" with cascarones, said Leticia Zamarripa, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection in El Paso.

The disease is not harmful to humans. Cooked and boiled eggs are allowed to cross the border.

The public is warned not to try to bring the shells, to avoid the disappointment of a confiscation, she said.

Cascarones are usually brought across on Easter Sunday, officials said.

By Thursday, 2,015 birds in El Paso County had been destroyed by state health officials to stop the spread of the disease, said Anna Cherry, spokeswoman for the state task force on the illness. Chickens, roosters and pet birds are more susceptible to the illness than wild birds.

The Texas Animal Health Commission issued an order Wednesday prohibiting moving birds from one location to another in El Paso County, including from pet stores to homes.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; To report sick or dead birds, call the El Paso exotic Newcastle disease task force at 859-9446.



KMIZ, MO

http://www.kmiz.com/news/headlines/297036.html

Exotic Newcastle Disease Spreading
Megan Klein
April 17, 2003

A viral disease that affects birds could soon make its way into Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture is discouraging poultry producers and bird owners from buying live birds in Texas and New Mexico.

Exotic Newcastle Disease affects virtually every organ and kills 80 to 100 percent of the birds it infects.

the first outbreak was in California and Nevada, and there are current reports of the disease in areas of Texas and New Mexico.

“It probably moved with game chickens. Texas is close enough to cause concern,” said Dr. Alex Bermudez, Associate Professor of Veterinary Path-biology.

The virus very rarely affects humans. There are no reported cases of Exotic Newcastle Disease in Missouri.

kmiz.com: Extended Web Coverage

Newcastle Disease

Newcastle disease is a serious and commonly fatal disease of poultry caused by a paramyxovirus. It is one of the most infectious diseases of poultry in the world. Chickens are the most susceptible birds, while ducks and geese are least susceptible. This disease can be found in many parts of the world, including North America, Asia, Africa and Australia. The virus does not infect humans or mammals.

Transmission

Birds may become infected directly through contact (such as pecking) with other infected birds, fecal material or through the air over a short distance; or indirectly through contact with contaminated clothing, vehicles, food, water and insects.

The virus may survive for several weeks in a warm, humid environment, but is rapidly destroyed by dehydration and sunlight.

Symptoms
Sneezing, coughing, gasping for air
Nasal discharge
Greenish watery stools
Drop in egg production, misshapen, thin or rough shelled eggs
Drooping wings
Hanging or twisting of the head and neck
Swelling around eyes and in neck
Total paralysis
Sudden death (mortality rates are close to 100 percent)

Many infected birds do not exhibit any symptoms

Treatment

There is no treatment for Newcastle Disease, only preventative vaccination. Chickens should be vaccinated every four months. Once a chicken is ill, it is too late to administer the vaccine. Separate sick and healthy chickens to help prevent the spread of Newcastle disease.

Source: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/index.htm (The California Department of Food and Agriculture Web site) contributed to this report.



United Poultry Concerns * PO Box 150 * Machipongo, VA 23405
Ph: 757-678-7875 * Fax: 757-678-5070 * www.UPC-online.org

San Diego County DA to Hold Briefing Today on Wood-Chipper Cruelty Case
April 17, 2003

An overwhelming public and organizational protest has ensued against the San Diego County District Attorney's decision, announced on April 10, not to prosecute the owners of the Ward Egg Ranch, whose workers threw 30,000 hens into wood-chipping machinery in February. When County Animal Services investigators told the workers to stop, they said the workers continued to throw the live hens into the machinery, and company owners Arie and Bill Wilgenburg said they were acting on the advice of a veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

According to The San Diego Union-Tribune (4/16), Deputy District Attorney Elisabeth Silva said, in defense of her decision not to prosecute the company: "Across the country, this is just one of the ways they [the poultry and egg industry] do it [mass-kill unwanted birds]." She said, "it's cruel and it's callous, but it's part of any animal husbandry operation."

United Poultry Concerns confirmed today, however, that San Diego District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis is holding a briefing with Deputy District Attorney Elisabeth Silva and other government officials involved in this case to evaluate the information they have, as well as the legal aspects of the case.

United Poultry Concerns, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and The Humane Society of the United States wrote to the District Attorney and the Deputy District Attorney urging prosecution of the owners of the Ward Egg Ranch and, following the decision not to prosecute, urging prosecution of all responsible individuals, especially of the veterinarian who told the company to throw the live hens into the machinery.

We hope to report that our request that everyone who was responsible for this act of merciless cruelty towards these defenseless hens will be charged with cruelty to animals. Grinding up live adult animals - feeding them into a funnel-shaped opening to be cut by blades into small pieces -- is not a recommended or permissible method of "euthanasia" under any code in the United States, including the 2000 AVMA Panel on Euthanasia Report, which states: "When animals must be euthanized, either as individuals or in larger groups, moral and ethical concerns dictate that humane practices be observed."

United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl:
http://www.upc-online.org.



ESPN

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/conservation/news/2003/0417/1540570.html

NWTF releases Gould's wild turkeys in Arizona
National Wild Turkey Federation

With the wind under their outstretched wings, 39 Gould's wild turkeys descended upon their new home in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona this morning at 10:00 a.m. (Mountain time), April 16, 2003, and thus wrote another chapter in the wild turkey's success story.

The wild turkeys were released from a holding facility and relocated to the Arizona mountains from Central Mexico.

"This is an important step in bringing wild turkeys back to their natural habitats across North America," said Dr. James Earl Kennamer, National Wild Turkey Federation senior vice president for conservation programs. "The Gould's is staging a comeback in Arizona. This project will give the Gould's population a boost and allow us to learn more about this little-known subspecies."

Called Go for the Gould's, the project began in Sonora, Mexico in mid March. The 39 wild turkeys were captured using rocket nets and transferred to a special quarantine facility in the Chiricahua Mountains. The turkeys were then held in quarantine for 30 days.

During that time, the turkeys were aged, divided by sex into 12 gobblers and 27 hens and fitted with leg bands. They were also inoculated for Exotic Newcastle Disease, an infectious and deadly poultry disease.

In addition, 20 of the birds were equipped with radio transmitters. These turkeys will be observed to determine their home ranges, habitats they use and factors that affect nesting success and mortality rates.

"We plan to learn a lot about the Gould's wild turkey," Kennamer said. "By using the radio transmitters, this gives us the opportunity to observe them from a distance."

The Gould's subspecies was nearly extirpated from the United States in the early 1900s and now occupies only a few remote mountain ranges in Arizona and New Mexico. Depending on continued funding and partnerships, the NWTF is expected to trap more birds in Mexico and release them in Arizona over the next five years.

More about Go for the Gould's Project

For centuries, wild turkeys played an important role in the traditions and culture of the American Indians in the southwest. For some tribes, the wild turkey was sacred and not eaten while in others it was a main source of food. In addition, turkey feathers were used to decorate clothing, fletch arrows and were used in religious ceremonies.

The Gould's wild turkey was also an important food source for those who settled and worked the rugged lands of southern Arizona. Between the Civil War and World War I, miners working in this region killed Gould's wild turkeys for their next meal. By the time Arizona set legal hunting seasons in 1929, the Gould's wild turkey had already disappeared.

Today's regulated hunting opportunities will benefit Gould's populations. For example, in 2002 a New Jersey man purchased the right to be the first person to hunt the Gould's wild turkey in the United States in modern times. The winning bid of $17,500 at the NWTF's 2002 Grand National Auction is being used to help fund Gould's restoration efforts.

As the populations continue to increase and stabilize, the Go for the Gould's project will provide economic benefits to local community businesses such as hotels, restaurants and gas stations as additional hunting opportunities become available.

The NWTF's Making Tracks Program

The Go for the Gould's project is part of the NWTF's larger Making Tracks program, which is a cooperative effort between the NWTF and state, federal and provincial wildlife agencies to restore wild turkey populations to all suitable habitat in North America. The reintroduction of the Gould's wild turkey has always been part of the NWTF's turkey restoration plan; however, recent developments have made the international transfer a reality in 2003.

The Go for the Gould's project was made possible through the work of the NWTF, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, WingShooters Lodge in Mexico, the Mexico Secretariat of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife, the NWTF Arizona State Chapter and the NWTF Tucson Local Chapter.

For more information about the Go for the Gould's Project or about the NWTF, call1-800-THE-NWTF or visit the website at www.nwtf.org.



Jefferson City News Tribune, MO

http://newstribune.com/stories/041703/sta_0417030070.asp

Thursday, April 17, 2003
Ag officials warn against birds from Texas, New Mexico
The Associated Press

State agriculture officials are asking Missourians not to bring live birds from Texas and New Mexico into this state.

The request issued Wednesday by the state Agriculture Department comes on the heels of a confirmed case of Exotic Newcastle Disease in a backyard flock of chickens near El Paso, Texas. It follows a warning in February against bringing in birds from California and Nevada, the two other states known to have the disease.

State and federal officials destroyed the Texas flock and quarantined five counties in Texas and New Mexico, an area known for significant movement of birds and poultry. The quarantine has been imposed so disease surveillance, testing and diagnosis can be conducted.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a contagious and fatal viral disease affecting all species of birds, but it is not a threat to humans, said Taylor Woods, the state veterinarian.

"Exotic Newcastle is definitely on the move in the United States," Woods said.

"It is critical that poultry producers and bird dealers take every precaution to prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease into Missouri."

The disease can spread by many means, including air, eggs and travel. Clinical signs can vary but include respiratory ailments such as coughing and sneezing, nervous signs such as walking in circles and paralysis, high mortality and decreased egg production.

Wild birds are more resistant to the disease, but remain at risk, Woods said.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture has increased its surveillance for the disease and can test birds at its diagnostic laboratory in Springfield, as well as at the University of Missouri-Columbia's veterinary medical laboratory.



Modesto Bee, CA

http://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters/story/6569643p-7510411c.html

Editorial for the birds
Published: April 17, 2003, 06:10:08 AM PDT

In an April 1 editorial ("Why the secrecy about the payments for diseased poultry?"), The Bee inaccurately portrayed the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force as being secretive about its indemnity program, which reimburses bird owners for losses from the disease. In fact, the task force has made available the documents used for making appraisals, including a cost breakdown of the ranges paid for various types of birds.

The task force is making every attempt to share information, including daily updates to the news media, as it works diligently to accomplish the enormous task of eradicating exotic Newcastle disease. It may be the world's most contagious disease of birds, and the threat is so serious that Gov. Davis has proclaimed a state of emergency.

Contrary to The Bee's editorial, poultry farmers are not shielded from financial consequences. While the task force does pay for the loss of birds, farmers and ranchers are not compensated for production losses and loss of market share.

California and the United States have a lot at stake. Eradication of this dangerous bird disease is essential.

JACK SHERE, DVM

ANNETTE WHITEFORD, DVM

Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force co-commanders

Sacramento



The Advertiser, LA

http://www.theadvertiser.com/business/html/F6FDCC6A-C85E-438A-891A-A2C21CF29F73.shtml

Poultry disease hits Texas
Odom: Efforts under way to protect state’s $610 million industry
John Sullivan
April 17, 2003
The Associated Press

LAFAYETTE — A deadly poultry disease that has affected millions of chickens in California and Nevada has now spread to Texas, according to state Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom.

Odom said Wednesday that Exotic Newcastle Disease is not dangerous to humans but is deadly to poultry. A quarantine of all eggs and poultry products from quarantined areas is in effect in Louisiana, he said.

Exotic Newcastle Disease was confirmed in California last year and has now reached El Paso and Hudspeth counties in Texas and Dona Ana, Luna and Otero counties in New Mexico. Because of the disease, 3.5 million birds have been destroyed in California, and the disease has been found in 16,000 locations throughout the state.

Odom said the quarantine and a very aggressive monitoring system in Louisiana have been started to protect the state’s $610 million poultry industry.

“It is imperative that people remember that Louisiana’s quarantine on poultry and poultry products from affected areas remains in place,” Odom said. “We cannot allow birds that have been exposed to END to enter the state.”

Marnell Lapeyrouse of New Iberia raises exotic birds, and the thought of the incurable disease sweeping through her flocks is a frightening prospect, she said.

“It is so contagious, and once it enters the flock, there’s nothing you can do,” Lapeyrouse said. “It’s very scary now. Everyone I know is talking about it.”

Lapeyrouse said she has about $10,000 invested in her flocks, which include African parrots and other exotic birds.

“Everyone is watching to see what will happen now,” Lapeyrouse. “We are all hoping it won’t reach Louisiana.”

The Texas Animal Health Commission in Austin released a fact sheet to Texas poultry farmers that says the disease strikes so quickly, some infected birds do not show any signs of the illness before they die.

The disease is spread through bodily discharges from infected birds, the commission said. The disease can lie dormant in a warm, humid environment –– such as feathers or manure –– until it is introduced into a healthy host.

Humans may be the prime delivery mechanism, the commission said. Workers may pick up the virus on their shoes or clothing while working in an infected flock and then transfer the virus into a healthy group of poultry.

“Once introduced into a healthy flock, it spreads like wildfire,” Odom said. “There is no cure.”

Odom said that since the disease started spreading from California last year, his office has sent letters and fact sheets on the disease to county agents, zoo directors, veterinarians, hunting clubs, commercial poultry companies and anyone involved with growing poultry.

Louisiana has also started a surveillance testing program, he said. Animal health officials are now taking samples from birds in avian and poultry events around the state.

“The Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at LSU is going to help by taking samples from dead birds submitted for West Nile testing,” Odom said. “All of the samples will be tested for END at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.”

He said that the key players in stopping the disease from entering Louisiana will be farmers. He said a fact sheet in English, Spanish, French, Tagalong and Vietnamese is now available on the department’s Web site at www.ldaf.state.la.us.

Odom said state veterinarian Dr. Maxwell Lea and assistant state veterinarian Dr. Martha Littlefield will both be making presentations to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association and other groups across the state.



Los Angeles Times, CA

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-le-larsen16apr16,1,7495550.story

April 16, 2003
LETTERS TO THE TIMES
Bird Lovers Wait for the Knock on the Door

"Disease Task Force Eyeing Pet Birds" (April 12), on the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force being given the authority to enter private homes and kill pet birds without a positive diagnosis for the disease, reports: "They walk door-to-door, searching for sick birds. If a bird is suspected of having the disease, it is killed immediately, in some cases in front of crying owners."

I'm completely in favor of avian disease control (this disease does not affect humans). If my parakeets were found to have the disease, I would be the first to bring them forward for humane euthanasia, but to kill healthy pets by sticking them in a bag with carbon dioxide in front of their owners is appalling. Even more shocking is the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has asked postal employees to help it locate bird owners. These are truly draconian measures, and it makes me wonder about the source of this authority. Could the multibillion-dollar poultry industry be doing some arm-twisting in a desperate effort to save its corporate profits?

I like to eat chicken, but I will be boycotting poultry products until sanity returns.

Terry Larsen
Ventura



Los Angeles Times, CA

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-a2-correx15.3apr15,1,4864819.story

April 15, 2003

Exotic Newcastle disease -- A photo caption in Saturday's California section incorrectly stated that actor Jeff Maxwell said the Postal Service told officials about his 22-year-old pet parrot, George. Maxwell learned from his mail carrier that USDA officials trying to eradicate the Exotic Newcastle disease have enlisted the postal service to report the addresses of bird owners. But he said his letter carrier did not inform officials about his bird.



Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, AZ

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1817&dept_id=230743&newsid=7721176&PAG=461&rfi=9

Easter egg supplies good despite drop in production from Newcastle disease
By KIM BACA, Associated Press Writer April 15, 2003
People trying to buy chicks for the holiday may have harder time

FRESNO, Calif. - Despite a drop in egg production after the outbreak of a deadly bird disease, there will be plenty of eggs for Easter. But in California, at least, people trying to buy chicks for the holiday may have a harder time. The state Department of Food and Agriculture is requiring swap meets and feed and pet stores to sign an agreement detailing new regulations before selling the birds, to prevent a spread of the exotic Newcastle disease.

The new rules include requiring store owners to keep the birds in pens and away from the public. They also require owners to maintain sales records for six months, including names and addresses of chicken hatcheries and store customers, causing some to forego the fowl altogether.

Doves, ducks, geese, grouse, fowl, ostriches, partridges, pheasants, quail, pigeons, ratites, swans and turkeys also are affected by the new rules.

Laverne Papagni, of Heiskell's Feed Depo in Visalia, is one of several store managers who have decided to stop selling chicks because she said it's too much trouble keeping track of the 1,500 to 2,000 birds she normally sells between now and July.

"We would have to fill out quite a few forms," she said.

State agriculture officials imposed the new rules last month after an outbreak of Newcastle disease, which spreads through manure, mucus and eggs. The virus poses no threat to humans.

Nearly 3.4 million birds have been slaughtered in California since October, when the disease was discovered in a backyard flock. So far, state and federal officials have spent $73 million to fight the disease, which has spread to Arizona, Nevada and possibly Texas.

State and federal agriculture officials have declared states of emergency across Southern California and expanded the quarantine zone for the disease.

The quarantine prohibits the movement without approval of all poultry, poultry products and nesting materials in areas hardest hit by Newcastle - Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties.

While many feed and pet store owners have opted against selling chicks because of the intensive record keeping, some are still willing.

Rodney Evangelho Jr., owner of Evangelho Seed and Farm Store in Lemoore, is among those because he says it's his busiest time of year. Many in the San Joaquin Valley buy the birds for food - both eggs and meat.

"Our most popular are the laying hens, which are the Road Island Reds and Iraucana, which they claim is the Easter chicken because the egg shells are blue and green," he said.

California's egg production is down after the slaughter of more than 3 million laying hens, but the exotic Newcastle hasn't hurt egg supplies because the state receives eggs from Iowa, Ohio and other top egg-producing states.

Though California is the nation's fifth-largest egg producer, the state doesn't have enough egg producers to supply its 34 million residents.



San Jose Mercury News, CA and Others

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5647257.htm

Posted on Wed, Apr. 16, 2003
Animal rights groups ask for animal cruelty charges
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO - Animal rights organizations want the district attorney to file animal cruelty charges against the owners of poultry ranches where thousands of live chickens were thrown into wood chippers amid the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease.

Prosecutors decided last week that Arie and Bill Wilgenburg, brothers and co-owners of an Escondido poultry ranch, did not act with criminal intent when they instructed workers to destroy chickens in the wood chippers.

Wood chippers are one of many methods used for mass euthanasia in the industry and the brothers were acting on the advice of a veterinarian, Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Silva said.

"It's cruel and it's callous, but it's part of any animal husbandry operation," Silva said.

The Wilgenburgs were banned from moving old, unproductive hens from their ranches in Valley Center and Potrero due to a quarantine for exotic Newcastle disease, an avian virus which has forced California ranchers to slaughter nearly 3.4 million birds since October.

The quarantine restricts the movement of poultry in seven Southern California counties.

But two animal rights groups, the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, asked the district attorney on Tuesday to reconsider the decision not to file cruelty charges.

A letter to District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis called the practice "barbaric and reckless."

"A determination from your office that it is not illegal to throw live hens into a wood chipper could put millions of animals in California's egg farm industry at risk," said the letter from the two groups.

Cem Akin, a PETA research associate, said the animals may be fully conscious as they endure the pain of having body parts pass through the grinder.



United Poultry Concerns E-List
News Release & Action Alert
Contact: Karen Davis 757-678-7875
April 16, 2003

Thirty Thousand Hens Were Fed to Wood-Chipping Machines
Urge Deputy District Attorney to File Cruelty Charges Against Everyone Responsible

"It's clearly animal cruelty." - Animal Services Lt. Mary Kay Gagliardo

In February, workers at the Ward Egg Ranch in San Diego County, California threw 30,000 unwanted hens into wood-chipping machinery, in which a piece of wood is "fed into a chipper's funnel-shaped opening, and blades on a rapidly spinning disk or drum cut it into small pieces."

When County Animal Services investigators told them to stop, they said the workers continued to throw the live hens into the machinery, and company owners Arie and Bill Wilgenburg said they were acting on the advice of a veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On April 10th, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office announced it would not prosecute the Ward Egg Ranch because the owners claimed to have acted under the direction of a USDA veterinarian, who has denied advising the company to kill the hens by grinding them up alive.

Grinding up live animals is not recommended by the 2000 AVMA Panel on Euthanasia Report, which states: "When animals must be euthanized, either as individuals or in larger groups, moral and ethical concerns dictate that humane practices be observed." Humane practices were not observed in this case, and it appears that one or more veterinarians took part in the decision to shred the unwanted hens while they were alive.

WHAT CAN I DO?
Please urge the deputy district attorney handling this case to charge everyone responsible for this act of extreme cruelty, especially any veterinarian who recommended the wood chippers. Grinding up live adult animals is not listed as a recommended or permissible method of "euthanasia" under any state or federal law in the United States. Contact:
Elisabeth Silva, Deputy District Attorney's Office
325 South Melrose Drive, Suite 5000
Vista, CA 92083
Ph: 760-806-4004, option 4
Fax: 760-806-4162

United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl: http://www.UPC-online.org



North County Times, CA

http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030416/71852.html

Newcastle task force has spent $92 million
KATHRYN GILLICK
Staff Writer

As Exotic Newcastle disease continues to spread, the costs are continuing to rise. And rise. And rise.

According to the state-federal task force in charge of containing and eradicating the disease, it has spent $92,949,210 so far.

The task force is being led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. It is unclear how much of that $92 million was spent by each agency.

In late March, the last time the task force released cost figures, it said it had spent $70.4 million.

The last time a widespread outbreak of Exotic Newcastle hit California was 1971 and cost the government $56 million. Adjusted for inflation, that figure becomes approximately $253 million.

When asked if there is any limit to how much the government will spend on Exotic Newcastle this time around, task force spokesman Larry Cooper said Tuesday that he did not know.

Since the disease was found in a flock of backyard birds in Compton last October, more than 3.4 million birds have been killed in six Southern California counties. The disease has also been found in Nevada, Arizona, and, most recently, Texas.

In California, a federal quarantine has been placed on all the counties where the disease has been found ----- San Diego, Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ventura ----- as well as Imperial and Santa Barbara counties, which are the buffer zones. No sign of the disease has been found in either Imperial or Santa Barbara County.

Exotic Newcastle was found in San Diego County in December when chickens at Ramona Egg Ranch tested positive. Since then, it has spread to six other ranches, all in Valley Center. Those are the Armstrong Egg ranches on Cole Grade, Lilac and Mac Tan roads; the Foster Egg Ranch on Cole Grade Road, the Fluegge Egg Ranch on Twain Way; and Ward Egg Ranch on Fruitvale Road.

The disease has also been found in 21 backyard flocks ----- 17 in Valley Center, two in Ramona and two in Escondido.

Officials said the disease, which is transmitted through the feces or mucus of sick birds, spreads so quickly that all chickens at a site must be killed to keep others from being infected.

All birds are said to be susceptible to the disease, even though some may not show physical signs. Symptoms of the disease can include sneezing, coughing, muscle spasms and drooping wings.

In San Diego County, task force officials have killed nearly 500,000 birds as the disease has spread.

The task force is paying bird owners "fair market value" for the birds it kills because of the disease, officials said.

Commercial farmers who have lost at least 30 percent of their production because of the quarantine may be eligible for emergency loans from the federal government. The loan program, through which a farmer can get up to $500,000 with a 3.5 percent interest rate, is only available to family-run commercial farms that have been unable to get loans from banks, said Patricia Miller, the farm loan program manager for the Southern California region. She said farmers must have good credit to qualify.

Miller said the money that farmers receive from the task force would be deducted from the loan amount.

So far, she has sent out 10 applications ----- three of them to San Diego County farmers ----- since the quarantine began in November, she said.

There are 37 poultry ranches in San Diego County, 27 of which are egg-raising facilities.

Eggs are a $48 million industry in San Diego County, with 101.5 million dozen produced last year, said Dolores Brandon, spokeswoman for the county Agriculture, Weights and Measures Department.

Farmers have until Sept. 8 to apply for the emergency loan program.

For more information on the program, call the USDA Farm Services Agency at (760) 347-3675.

Contact staff writer Kathryn Gillick at (760) 740-5412 or kgillick@nctimes.com

4/16/03



Union-Tribune, CA

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20030416-9999_1mi16humane.html

Groups ask DA to rethink throwing chickens into wood chippers
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 16, 2003

The Humane Society of the United States and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals yesterday asked the District Attorney's Office to reconsider its decision not to file animal cruelty charges against the owners of poultry ranches where thousands of live chickens where thrown into wood chippers.

Last week, the District Attorney's Office decided that brothers Arie and Bill Wilgenburg, who own the Escondido-based Ward Poultry Farm, were not acting with criminal intent when they instructed workers to destroy chickens with wood chippers.

The Wilgenburgs were following the advice of a veterinarian, and wood chippers are one of many methods of mass euthanasia used by the poultry industry, Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Silva said.

"Across the country, this is just one of the ways they do it," said Silva, who specializes in agricultural crime.

She said the Ward farm, prohibited from moving old unproductive hens from its ranches in Valley Center and Potrero due to a quarantine for exotic Newcastle disease, a deadly avian virus, faced few options for destroying them. "It's cruel and it's callous, but it's part of any animal husbandry operation," Silva said.

But in a letter to District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president of the Humane Society, and Eric Sakach, director of the society's west coast regional office, said the use of a wood chipper to destroy chickens was not an acceptable means of euthanasia.

"Let me say emphatically that no reputable animal welfare authority could possibly condone such a barbaric and reckless method of killing," the two wrote. "Neither the HSUS nor the American Veterinary Medical Association endorses this conduct.

" . . . A determination from your office that it is not illegal to throw live hens into a wood chipper could put millions of animals in California's egg farm industry at risk."

Cem Akin, a PETA research associate, said grinding or maceration of poultry should only be used on chicks up to 72 hours old. In a letter to Silva, Akin said its use on older chickens "results in extreme pain and suffering for animals who do not die instantly due to overcrowding or jamming and have to endure the horror of having body parts go through the grinder while still fully conscious."

Wood chippers, typically used by tree-removal companies, have blades on rapidly spinning disks or drums that cut branches into small chips. Silva said her decision came down to whether a jury could be convinced that the ranchers acted with criminal intent. In an interview, Bill Wilgenburg has said he was simply following expert advice.

Silva said the Wilgenburgs were given permission to use the wood chippers by a veterinarian working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and assigned to its exotic Newcastle disease eradication effort. USDA officials, however, said last week the veterinarian was not working for or representing the agency. Silva and the county Department of Animal Services maintain that he was working with the USDA.

Elizabeth Fitzsimons:
(760) 737-7578; elizabeth.fitzsimons@uniontrib.com



KFMB, CA

http://www.kfmb.com/topstory15089.html

CALIFORNIA POULTRY FARMERS WON'T FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES

(04-15-2003) - Two California poultry farmers who fed some 30,000 live chickens into wood chippers will not face criminal charges, because they had permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prosecutors said on Friday.

But a spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States called the farmers "callous and barbaric" and disagreed with the decision not to prosecute them.

The farmers needed to destroy the chickens because they were "spent" – or no longer able to produce eggs - and could not make chicken soup out of them because the farms were under quarantine for the poultry virus Exotic Newcastle Disease, District Attorney's spokeswoman Gayle Stewart said.

Brothers Arie and Will Wilgenburg, who run Escondido-based Ward Poultry Farm, could not be reached for comment on Friday. Earlier, they told the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper that they were doing "what we thought we had to do" based on expert advice and stopped as soon as they learned otherwise.

Wayne Pacelle, a spokesman for the Humane Society, said that explanation was unacceptable.

"The act of feeding live chickens into a wood chipper is an extraordinarily callous and barbaric act and I can't imagine any person with a whit of common sense would use a wood chipper as a killing tool," he said. "No person with any experience in killing animals would sanction the use of this technique."

Pacelle said the District Attorney's decision not to prosecute the brothers rested on the "faulty assumption" that using wood chippers to kill chickens was an accepted practice.



morons.org

http://web.morons.org/article.jsp?sectionid=7&id=3135

Random: "I Guess That's Your Accomplice in the Wood Chipper"
Posted by spatula on Apr. 15, 2003

I'll keep this short since the story really speaks for itself.

Two California farmers won't be facing criminal charges for their unorthodox method of destroying live chickens- feeding them into a wood chipper- because they got permission from the US Department of Agriculture.

Let me stop here for just a second to say this: EWWWWW GROSS.

The farmers were destroying the chickens because they could no longer be used to produce eggs and also couldn't be slaughtered in the usual manner for meat- the farms in question were under quarantine because of Exotic Newcastle Disease.

Tossing chickens into a wood chipper is admittedly pretty barbaric, and it wasn't just the morons at PETA who spoke out against this one. Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society told the press, "The act of feeding live chickens into a wood chipper is an extraordinarily callous and barbaric act and I can't imagine any person with a whit of common sense would use a wood chipper as a killing tool. No person with any experience in killing animals would sanction the use of this technique."

Now I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan (though I do generally refuse to eat mammals for ethical and health reasons) but I do find the use of wood chippers a bit bothersome here. I think that if we have to kill animals (and let's face it, farmers have got to pay the bills and can't afford to board a flock of spent chickens) then we should do it in the most humane way that's reasonable and possible. Was there some option other than the wood chipper? What else might have been done here?

---Nick



Wisconsin Ag Connection, WI

http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.cfm?Id=426&yr=2003

Texas, New Mexico Quarantined After END Outbreak
USAgNet Editors - 04/15/2003

USDA quarantined El Paso and Hudspeth counties in Texas and Dona Ana, Luna and Otero counties in New Mexico , N.M., after detections of exotic Newcastle disease. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman declared an extraordinary animal disease emergency that allows USDA to take any necessary actions to prevent the spread of END.

END, a contagious and fatal viral disease that affects all species of birds, was confirmed in backyard poultry on a premise in El Paso on April 9. USDA's quarantine restricts the movement of birds, poultry, products and materials that could spread END from the area.

USDA, working cooperatively with the state of Texas, has sent a team of veterinarians and other personnel to the state to prevent the spread of the disease. This team will begin identifying infected flocks, imposing quarantines, euthanizing and disposing of birds when appropriate and cleaning and disinfecting infected sites. USDA is also providing educational information to community residents and the poultry industry.

END, which does not pose a significant health risk to humans, is one the most infectious poultry diseases in the world, with a death rate of almost 100 percent in unvaccinated poultry flocks. The disease is spread primarily through direct contact between healthy birds or poultry and the bodily discharges of infected birds or poultry.



Los Angeles Daily News, CA

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~1325882,00.html

Article Published: Monday, April 14, 2003 - 6:56:32 PM PST
Search widens for birds with Newcastle disease
By Grace Lee
Staff Writer

State and federal officials expanded their search Monday for chickens and other birds infected with deadly exotic Newcastle disease.

About 100 birds in Simi Valley have been destroyed since the most recent outbreak of the disease last month, said Larry Cooper, a spokesman for the Newcastle Task Force, a joint effort by the state and federal departments of agriculture.

The backyard birds were found at three homes and included hens, roosters and doves.

This week, the task force widened its search beyond the half-mile radius of the initial three outbreaks.

"Inspectors have been doing surveys over the weekend, going door to door," Cooper said. After an epidemiologist appraises the property, a veterinarian can destroy birds suspected of being infected.

He said inspectors will go to about 40 homes in six five-member teams.

While the disease poses no threat to humans, it is highly contagious among birds and includes symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, swelling around the eyes and neck and sudden death. It has killed more than 3 million birds in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and Ventura counties.

Andrea Casadei raises exotic birds for a hobby. Her outdoor aviary on Alamo Street was quarantined two weeks ago by task force officials.

Even though her birds are not infected, she said, her yard was quarantined because it was close to a house with diseased birds.

She criticized the task force for failing to act quickly enough after discovering the disease.

"Two weeks is a long time. It would've been appropriate to canvass immediately so more-protective procedures could be put into place."

Casadei also questioned why hers was the only quarantined house on the block even though several of her neighbors owned chickens.

The quarantine is expected to last 60 days.

Sarah Kitzan's home was also under quarantine because she owns two pet chickens, Gloria and Hunter. Task force members, after inspecting them about three weeks ago, found that they were healthy, but posted the warning outside her home because she lived on Adams, the street where one of the outbreaks occurred.

"We've been checking on them every day," she said.

Down the street, she said, her aunt owns about 30 chickens and has also been quarantined.

"They're like her babies. She's pretty upset," Kitzan said. "I care about my chickens, but she loves hers."



Hamilton Spectator, Canada

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1050357764857&call_pageid=1014656273827

Apr. 15, 2003. 01:17 AM
Chicken and chippers

LOS ANGELES -- Two California poultry farmers who fed some 30,000 live chickens into wood chippers will not face criminal charges because they had permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prosecutors said Friday.

But a spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States called the farmers "callous and barbaric" and disagreed with the decision not to prosecute them.

The farmers needed to destroy the chickens because they were "spent" -- or no longer able to produce eggs -- and could not make chicken soup out of them because the farms were under quarantine for the poultry virus Exotic Newcastle Disease, District Attorney's spokeswoman Gayle Stewart said.

Stewart said the men, who run a poultry farm near San Diego, asked a senior veterinarian with the agriculture department if they could employ the wood chippers and were given permission.



Fort Morgan Times, CO

http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/Stories/0,1413,164%257E8312%257E1325702,00.html

Article Last Updated: Monday, April 14, 2003 - 5:34:53 PM MST
Polutry owners should beware of exotic disease

Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) was confirmed late Wednesday in backyard fighting chickens south of El Paso, Texas.

State veterinary officials are concerned that the disease will move into Colorado through illegal cockfighting networks. The affected flock is approximately 15 miles from New Mexico where cock fighting is legal.

The viral strain is similar to the California/Arizona/Nevada strain. As a result, five counties in Texas and New Mexico have been quarantined: El Paso County in Texas and Luna, Dona, Ana and Otero Counties in New Mexico.

Most wild and domestic birds are susceptible to END, as well as chickens, turkeys, pheasant, quail, ducks and geese. Humans are not susceptible to END.

With this disease striking closer to Colorado, State Veterinarian Wayne Cunnigham urged Coloradans to remain vigilant for unexpected illness and death loss in poultry. "We are working to prevent END from entering the state, but if it does, early detection is our best hope of containing it," Cunningham said.

Colorado has an END surveillance program in place where bird and poultry owners can submit dead birds to selected Colorado State University Cooperative Extension sites. Contact your local county CSU Extension Office for a list of sites.

After an incubation period of two to 15 days, clinical signs of END can include:

Loss of appetite, depression and decreased egg production.
Swelling of head and eyes with discoloration of lower lid in white chickens.
Greenish, watery diarrhea.
Respiratory distress with sneezing, gasping for air nasal discharge and coughing.
Muscle tremors, twisting of the neck or paralysis of the legs or wings.
Sudden death without previous clinical signs or visible lesions.

To prevent the introduction of END onto your property, follow some basic biosecurity measures:

Keep your birds and poultry isolated on your premises.
Isolate new additions away from the rest of the flock.
Clean your footwear prior to entering and when leaving poultry pens.
Use bleach and water or a commercial disinfectant on your footwear after cleaning.
Wear clean clothing when working with birds to prevent introducing the virus from other places.
Don't buy feed from the premises of other poultry owners.
Don't allow visitors to have access to your birds or poultry.
The disease has been previously found in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Quarantined counties are Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego & Ventura in California; Clark in Nevada and La Paz in Arizona.

Colorado will not accept birds or poultry from any of the above counties unless from an official quarantine facility.

Owners who observe any signs of potential disease in their poultry should contact their local Colorado State University Extension Office, the Colorado State Veterinarian's Office (303-239-4161), or the USDA Area Veterinary Services Office (303-231-5385).



Jefferson City News Tribune, MO

http://newstribune.com/stories/041403/bus_0414030024.asp

Monday, April 14, 2003
Egg supplies good despite poultry disease

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Despite a drop in egg production after the outbreak of a deadly bird disease, there will be plenty of eggs for Easter. But in California, at least, people trying to buy chicks for the holiday may have a harder time.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture is requiring swap meets and feed and pet stores to sign an agreement detailing new regulations before selling the birds, to prevent a spread of the exotic Newcastle disease.

The new rules include requiring store owners to keep the birds in pens and away from the public. They also require owners to maintain sales records for six months, including names and addresses of chicken hatcheries and store customers, causing some to forego the fowl altogether.

Doves, ducks, geese, grouse, fowl, ostriches, partridges, pheasants, quail, pigeons, ratites, swans and turkeys also are affected by the new rules.

Laverne Papagni, of Heiskell's Feed Depo in Visalia, is one of several store managers who have decided to stop selling chicks because she said it's too much trouble keeping track of the 1,500 to 2,000 birds she normally sells between now and July.

"We would have to fill out quite a few forms," she said.

State agriculture officials imposed the new rules last month after an outbreak of Newcastle disease, which spreads through manure, mucus and eggs. The virus poses no threat to humans.

Nearly 3.4 million birds have been slaughtered in California since October, when the disease was discovered in a backyard flock. So far, state and federal officials have spent $73 million to fight the disease, which has spread to Arizona, Nevada and possibly Texas.

State and federal agriculture officials have declared states of emergency across Southern California and expanded the quarantine zone for the disease.

The quarantine prohibits the movement without approval of all poultry, poultry products and nesting materials in areas hardest hit by Newcastle -- Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has quarantined birds and poultry in three New Mexico counties and two Texas counties after tests showed a backyard flock of chickens near El Paso carried the Newcastle disease.

While many feed and pet store owners have opted against selling chicks because of the intensive record keeping, some are still willing.

Rodney Evangelho Jr., owner of Evangelho Seed and Farm Store in Lemoore, is among those because he says it's his busiest time of year. Many in the San Joaquin Valley buy the birds for food -- both eggs and meat.

"Our most popular are the laying hens, which are the Road Island Reds and Iraucana, which they claim is the Easter chicken because the egg shells are blue and green," he said.

California's egg production is down after the slaughter of more than 3 million laying hens, but the exotic Newcastle hasn't hurt egg supplies because the state receives eggs from Iowa, Ohio and other top egg-producing states.

Though California is the nation's fifth-largest egg producer, the state doesn't have enough egg producers to supply its 34 million residents.



Paris News, TX

http://web.theparisnews.com/story.lasso?-datasource=paris&-table=paris&-keyfield=ID&-op=eq&ID=11428&-search

Sick chickens prompt emergency bill
By Mary Madewell
The Paris News
Published April 14, 2003

A suspected sick chicken outbreak in El Paso last week has prompted state Rep. Mark Homer, D-Paris, to co-author a bill to bring fowl distributors under the regulatory umbrella of the Texas Animal Health Commission.

A suspected outbreak of Exotic Newcastle’s Disease in a non-commercial flock of chickens in El Paso discovered April 5 sparked the emergency legislation which is expected to receive swift action.

House Bill 2328 will require inspection, disinfection and sanitation of all fowl moving in, out and around the state, Homer said. Texas Animal Health will be responsible for setting up administrative guidelines.

Arkansas administrators also are considering emergency action through that state Poultry and Livestock Commission, according to Associated Press reports.

“The problem is not with commercial producers because they have preventive medicines, but mainly with flee market distribution, where birds are often brought in across state lines,” Homer said.

“This bill would give Texas Animal Health the power to make those people register and show that they are handling healthy birds,” Homer said.

Since October, about 3.5 million birds have been slaughtered in California, where the current outbreak began, Homer said.

State and federal agencies have spent $73 million to fight the disease, which has spread to Arizona, Nevada and now possibly Texas.

“It’s just not right for the vast majority of our poultry industry to be threatened by a very small minority of people that refuse to operate their businesses in a safe and sanitary manner,” Homer said.

“This bill will put all fowl-owners, large and small, on the same radar screen and make huge strides toward injuring the safety of the operations that are vital to the communities and economies of Texas,” he said.

The virus, which poses no threat to humans, spreads through poultry manure, mucus and eggs. The disease, which is fatal to chickens, spreads from infected backyard chicken flocks, according to information Homer said he received from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

© 2000 The Paris News. All rights reserved.



Reuters, UK

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2562006

Farmers Put Live Chickens in Wood Chippers
Mon April 14, 2003 10:32 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two California poultry farmers who fed some 30,000 live chickens into wood chippers will not face criminal charges because they had permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prosecutors said on Friday.

But a spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States called the farmers "callous and barbaric" and disagreed with the decision not to prosecute them.

The farmers needed to destroy the chickens because they were "spent" -- or no longer able to produce eggs -- and could not make chicken soup out of them because the farms were under quarantine for the poultry virus Exotic Newcastle Disease, District Attorney's spokeswoman Gayle Stewart said.

Stewart said the men, who run a poultry farm near San Diego, asked a senior veterinarian with the Agriculture Department if they could employ the wood chippers and were given permission.

"Once they had permission we decided that they did not have any criminal intent," Stewart said.

Brothers Arie and Will Wilgenburg, who run Escondido-based Ward Poultry Farm, could not be reached for comment on Friday. Earlier, they told the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper that they were doing "what we thought we had to do" based on expert advice and stopped as soon as they learned otherwise.

Wayne Pacelle, a spokesman for the Humane Society, said that explanation was unacceptable.

"The act of feeding live chickens into a wood chipper is an extraordinarily callous and barbaric act and I can't imagine any person with a whit of common sense would use a wood chipper as a killing tool," he said. "No person with any experience in killing animals would sanction the use of this technique."

Pacelle said the District Attorney's decision not to prosecute the brothers rested on the "faulty assumption" that using wood chippers to kill chickens was an accepted practice.



Corpus Christi Caller Times, TX

http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_1887457,00.html

Veterinarian returns to Texas to help fight diseases in livestock
State's new executive director of the animal health commission had worked in Idaho
Monica Wolfson
By Scripps Howard Austin Bureau
April 14, 2003

AUSTIN - Many years ago, Dr. Bob Hillman went on calls with a family friend who was a veterinarian.

"He encouraged me to go to vet school," said Hillman, who took the advice and graduated from Texas A&M University.

Now, Hillman is the new state veterinarian and executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission, which works to prevent the spread of disease in livestock so beef and poultry continue as viable export products.

The animal health commission is the livestock version of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state agency's 200 employees, located in Austin and eight field offices, help prevent the spread of diseases such as tuberculosis and bovine brucellosis in livestock.

Hillman, a Texas native, started his new position _April 1.

Returns to his home state

He was born in Medina and grew up on a small ranch near Cameron, but he has spent the past 20 years working in Idaho. His most recent position was as Idaho's administrator of the Division of Animal Industries.
''Although Dr. Hillman has been away from Texas for some time, he has never been out of touch with issues that affect our state's livestock industry," said Richard Traylor, chairman of the 12-member board that oversees the animal health commission. "We're fortunate he's ready to return to his home state.''

After earning his veterinarian degree from Texas A&M University, he worked as a field veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Wichita Falls for a year before opening a veterinary practice in Vernon. Hillman moved to Idaho in 1981.

Since animals can't tell a doctor what they are feeling, Hillman said making a diagnosis is more difficult than with humans.

"It makes you look carefully at the animal," he said. "You look at the history of the animal and talk to the person that oversees the animal's care."

Improving animal health

As head of the Animal Health Commission, Hillman said his goal is to improve animal health in Texas and to prevent the spread of diseases that have reached the state's doorstep.

Animals can be vaccinated against many diseases, such as tuberculosis and the deadly West Nile Virus.

But several countries have banned the import of livestock that come from disease-prone areas, which could hurt the livelihood of the state's livestock industry.

Responding to disease

The commission was created in 1893 to battle fever tick problems in cattle. Once fever ticks were brought under control, tuberculosis began to increase in frequency.

The disease still occasionally flares up in herds and is most present in Mexican livestock.

But the agency's latest concern is the exotic Newcastle disease, which strikes poultry and birds.

Newcastle is a fatal and contagious disease spread when bodily fluids of an infected bird come in contact with healthy birds.

The disease, which officials say might have reached El Paso, has been detected in California, Nevada and Arizona. Poultry produced in those states are banned for sale to 24 countries.

"We deal in trying to prevent the introduction of diseases," Hillman said. "And if it is introduced, we have a plan of response."

State compensation

The state must compensate any livestock owner if livestock is ordered condemned or destroyed.

''Agriculture production is the single largest industry in state," said state Rep. Rick Hardcastle, R-Vernon, chairman of the House Agricultural and Livestock Committee. "We are a border state. When you live with quarantine, it affects the marketability of livestock."

Contact Monica Wolfson at (512) 334-6642 or wolfsonm@scripps.com.



Ventura County Star, CA

http://www.insidevc.com/vcs/mo/article/0,1375,VCS_167_1887250,00.html

April 14, 2003
simi valley

Talk on Newcastle disease tonight at Simi City Hall

A presentation on exotic Newcastle disease, a contagious and fatal bird malady, is scheduled tonight in Simi Valley.

About 3.3 million birds have been slaughtered in California since last fall in an attempt to eradicate the illness. The disease, first detected in commercial and backyard flocks of chickens in California last October, has spread to Nevada and Arizona.

Sponsored by a U.S. Department of Agriculture task force, the presentation will include a discussion on procedures to educate the public, identification of the disease, how to control its spread, and the process of how to deal with infected animals.

Exotic Newcastle disease is fatal to chickens, doves, ducks, geese, ostriches, peacocks, pigeons, turkeys and swans. Symptoms include sneezing, coughing, shaking, diarrhea, runny eyes, weight loss and depression.

Among those scheduled to speak at the presentation are USDA representatives and veterinarians experienced in Newcastle disease. The event starts at 7 p.m. at Simi Valley City Hall, 2929 Tapo Canyon Road.

Adelphia Communications will telecast the meeting live on Channel 8. The event is hosted by the Simi Valley Neighborhood Councils.

For more information, call Emily Habib at 583-6756.



United Press International

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030411-042247-1261r

Published 4/14/2003 1:15 AM
Tests confirm poultry disease in Texas

Movement of birds and other poultry in five counties of west Texas and New Mexico is being restricted after tests confirmed Exotic Newcastle Disease was found in a flock of chickens near El Paso.

The flock already has been killed, but officials are concerned that the disease may have spread to other poultry in the area. State officials and the federal Agriculture Department have imposed quarantines on birds in that region.

The latest outbreak is a spread of the disease, which already has caused millions of birds in Southern California and Nevada to be killed.



North County Times, CA

http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030413/64611.html

Man arrested in gamecock fighting case
JO MORELAND
Staff Writer

RAINBOW ---- A Rainbow man is a suspect in the latest gamecock fighting case in San Diego County.

The San Diego Humane Society and Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals law enforcement officers said Saturday that Joseph Bamboa, 50, told officers that he owned 24 of 64 fighting birds found at his Rainbow Creek Road ranch when it was raided Thursday.

The investigators arrested Bamboa on suspicion of possession of fighting birds and possession of cockfighting materials. He was released on the alleged misdemeanors, pending a court date.

"There were some more leads at this site that we're going to look into," said Gigi Bacon Theberge, Humane Society spokeswoman, adding that there might be more arrests.

Bamboa couldn't be reached for comment.

Gamecocks are taught to fight to the death, using metal spurs that can maim and kill other birds.

Theberge said Bamboa's birds were euthanized at his ranch, because fighting birds can't be placed safely with other flocks.

Many times the birds are shot up with amphetamines and stimulants, so they also aren't safe to eat, Theberge said.

She noted that there is also a concern about Exotic Newcastle disease, which has infected a number of San Diego County egg ranches. The California Department of Agriculture is testing the remaining birds for Exotic Newcastle.

Those gamecocks are being held at the site for at least 13 days or until their owners come to claim them. Then they will be euthanized by lethal injection, Theberge said.

San Diego County Sheriff's Department deputies tipped humane society officials to the alleged gamecock activity. The agency's investigators developed the case and served a search warrant Thursday at the ranch.

4/13/03



Union-Tribune, CA

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20030412-9999_1mi12fights.html

Man arrested on charges related to gamecock fighting
By Dwight Daniels
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 12, 2003

RAINBOW – San Diego Humane Society investigators have arrested a man here on charges of possessing 64 fighting gamecocks and materials used in cockfighting.

Joseph Bamoa, 50, was arrested Thursday at a ranch on Rainbow Creek Road.

The charges are misdemeanors. Bamoa was released pending a court date. He could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Authorities said they confiscated a large quantity of cockfighting paraphernalia, including razor-sharp "slashers" and gaffs, which are ice pick-like devices attached to birds' legs.

Humane Society law enforcement chief Capt. Beau Beauregard said investigators are following leads that may result in additional arrests.

"Cockfighting is a heinous, barbaric activity," he said. "We are putting cockfighters, dog fighters, and other animal abusers in San Diego County on notice."

In cockfighting, birds are placed in a pit to fight to the death. Even the victor can suffer serious injuries such as punctured lungs, broken limbs and pierced eyes.

Aficionados bet amounts from $50 to several thousand dollars on cockfights, which are illegal in 48 states. Louisiana and New Mexico are the only states that allow cockfighting.

Officials said they euthanized two dozen birds at the Rainbow residence that Bamoa admitted he owned.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing else that you can do with them," said society spokesman Gigi Bacon Theberge.

She said fighting cocks are usually so drugged, distressed, diseased and violent that they can't be placed with other flocks.

The other birds remain at the Rainbow property because of concerns about Newcastle disease until their owners attempt to claim them. The birds will probably be euthanized after a required 13-day waiting period.

"It's a sad situation all around," Theberge said.



Los Angeles Times, CA

April 12, 2003
CALIFORNIA
Disease Task Force Eyeing Pet Birds
Authorities are going door-to-door searching for parrots and poultry alike. If the avians appear sick, they are killed on the spot.
By Tina Daunt and Bob Pool, Times Staff Writers

State and federal agents trying to control the spread of a deadly avian disease have killed 3.4 million birds in Southern California -- some of them household parrots and parakeets -- and have enlisted hundreds of investigators, mail carriers and talkative neighbors to help identify homes with birds.

Officials with the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force say they must take extreme measures to halt the disease, which spreads like a virulent flu, before it wipes out the state's $3-billion poultry industry.

Since the disease was discovered in September in a backyard flock of chickens in Compton, task force members have placed wide swaths of Southern California under quarantine. They walk door-to-door, searching for sick birds. If a bird is suspected of having the disease, it is killed immediately, in some cases in front of crying owners.

Bird lovers complain that they are more frightened of the task force than the disease.

Actor-producer Jeff Maxwell, who owns a 22-year-old parrot, said he watched in shock as a task force agent last weekend jotted down the address and a description of his Alhambra home and then entered its global positioning satellite coordinates into a hand-held computer. He later learned from his mailman that USDA officials have enlisted the Postal Service into reporting the addresses of bird owners.

The task force has been given "carte blanche to kill any feathered thing on your property or your house regardless of whether it tests positive," Maxwell said. "The thought of somebody driving to my door, which now could happen because I've been identified as being a bird owner, and coming in and killing my bird in front of me is outrageous."

Annette Whiteford, who helps manage the task force on behalf of the state Department of Food and Agriculture, has spent months fielding similar complaints from angry and distraught bird owners.

"Being on this task force has been depressing because I have been trained to save animals," said Whiteford, a veterinarian. "Now my mission is to save animals by killing animals. This disease is not pretty."

Exotic Newcastle is harmless to humans but affects virtually all bird species, especially chickens. The uncurable disease causes sneezing, coughing and diarrhea, and can be spread by a speck of saliva carried on a feather blowing in the wind.

The last time the virus hit the state's poultry industry was in the early 1970s, when 12 million chickens had to be destroyed at a cost of more than $50 million. The disease took almost three years to eradicate.

Following the discovery of Newcastle last year, authorities ordered birds in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties quarantined. The lockdown was recently extended to Santa Barbara, Ventura and Imperial counties. New cases have been discovered in Nevada and Arizona. People who move birds out of the quarantined areas could face a $25,000 fine.

The task force, formed by the state Department of Food and Agriculture and the USDA, has been trying to control the virus by killing seemingly healthy birds living within approximately half a mile of infected fowl. Nearly 2,000 people, many of them out-of-state veterinarians and other USDA workers, have been brought in for 21-day rotations on the task force.

Agents have set up two busy headquarters, one in Garden Grove and the other in Colton. The task force makes wall-sized charts of infected and quarantined areas in Southern California. Giant red circles blend together in parts of San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.

So far, the task force has killed 3.2 million birds at 22 farms and commercial businesses, most of them in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Nearly 137,000 birds making up 2,343 backyard flocks have also been killed, including 417 such flocks in Los Angeles County, two in Orange County and three in Ventura County. Some wild birds have also been killed.

Cases of the disease have been identified in 28 Los Angeles County communities. Lancaster, Little Rock, South El Monte, El Monte and La Puente account for the highest instances of disease in backyard flocks.

"Newcastle disease is the hoof-and-mouth disease of birds," said Jack Shere, a veterinarian who is leading the task force on behalf of the USDA. "People don't seem to grasp how important that is. The bottom line is you have to euthanize the few to protect the many."

Earlier this year, the task force targeted parts of the Westside after a bird suspected of having the disease was dropped off at an animal shelter. Eventually the area was declared safe, but only after agents fanned out through West Los Angeles and Santa Monica, warning residents that government has the authority to kill pet birds if necessary to halt the outbreak of disease.

In February, task force members accompanied by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies eradicated more than 100 birds at the Little Rock home of Amalia Piceno -- chickens, ducks, some peacocks and a pair of turkeys named Thelma and Louise. One peacock was shot from a tree with a .22-caliber rifle. Piceno said the family was paid $1,254 for the losses.

"They don't care about your feelings," Piceno said Friday, breaking down in tears as she recalled the incident. "They even destroyed all the pens we had. I said, 'Who's going to pay for that?' and they told me, 'Not us.' "

Last month, task force members, accompanied by police officers, showed up at Deanna Wood's home in Mira Loma. Carrying a forced-entry warrant, they pushed through her backyard gate and seized her pet rooster, four hens and two ducks. They placed the birds in a large cardboard barrel. Wood said she stood in horror, listening to the birds shriek as task force members filled the barrel with carbon dioxide.

She said she was later told that agents had found an infected flock of birds "around the corner and up the street" from her house. "I feel like I've lost seven members of my family," Wood said.

Jittery leaders of the Parrot Society of Los Angeles are circulating a bulletin to its members:

"Be prepared not to allow a task force member entry into your home, no matter how polite they seem.... If no law enforcement officer is with them, call 911 for help. Keep a video camera handy, with fresh film and batteries."

Daina Castellano, a Parrot Society board member, said she has spent hours consoling traumatized bird owners.

"The violation of people who have lost their pets is overwhelming," said Castellano, a Santa Monica resident who owns eight macaws and an African Grey parrot.

Meanwhile, several groups of bird owners in March sued Gov. Gray Davis and governmental agencies, demanding that due-process protections be instituted to block officials from "arbitrarily" killing pets and show birds.

Lawyer William Dailey of West Hollywood said more than 800 healthy birds belonging to petitioners named in the complaint have been killed so far and hundreds of others are in jeopardy.

"We're asking that birds not be killed unless they need to be," Dailey said. "If they were doing this to people's dogs and cats, there'd be such a scream down here it would be heard clear in Sacramento."

Maxwell, whose roles have included that of Private Igor on the "MASH" television series, said he was told that his parrot, George, would be granted a reprieve if he implemented "a bio-security plan" that meets standards being set by the task force.

He quickly installed troughs filled with bleach at his front and back doors to disinfect the bottoms of shoes. Visitors must wear freshly laundered clothing and wash their hands 10 to 20 seconds in hot, soapy water upon entering his house.

"I love my bird dearly," he said. "I've had him 22 years. We don't have kids -- George is our kid."



Los Angeles Times, CA

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ontario/news/la-ivo-chicks12apr12,1,3473651.story

Avian disease cuts into sales of Easter chicks
Holiday tradition hit by spread of Newcastle disease, with tough new rules for sellers, buyers.
By Matthew Chin
Inland Valley Voice
April 12, 2003

ONTARIO -- An avian disease that has spread through Southern California's egg industry in the last six months is also doing away with an Easter tradition.

You're not likely to hear the peeping or see the bright yellow fuzziness of newborn chicks at Inland Valley feed stores this spring. Exotic Newcastle disease, which has led state and federal workers fighting for eradication to destroy more than 3.4 million birds in California since October, has also severely affected feed stores that usually sell thousands of chicks between February and June.

Tough new rules limit the display of birds in groups at state and county fairs, poultry shows and feed stores.

"They're disappointed we're not having chicks," Karen Madison, manager of Caballero Feed & Pet in Ontario, said about recent customers. The new rules have hurt business, she added.

Other store owners face similar drops in sales.

"I've lost 25% of my business and I'm just hanging on by the skin of my teeth," said Frances Luczak, owner of Etiwanda Hay & Grain in Mira Loma. "People think it's just the gamecock owners."

Luczak used to sell newborn chicks for $1.45 each, she said. She ordered the chicks from Texas in groups of 100 and would sell them in about a week. Most of her clients buy chickens for fresh eggs, although a few want them as pets, she said.

But she isn't worried just about selling fewer chicks. A drop in chick sales means a drop in sales of food, feeders and items needed to raise chicks into healthy adult chickens.

At Luczak's store, a 50-pound bag of chicken scratch sells for just under $8 and a bag of vitamin-enriched mash sells for $9. Selling fewer chicks adds up quickly to a dramatic drop in overall sales.

Officials have tried to work with store owners by creating guidelines that would allow sales but minimize opportunity to spread the disease, but they are restrictive and Luczak doesn't think she'll be able to comply with the rules in time for Easter.

Stores may not display chicks together in one cage or pen unless owners comply with a 16-point agreement with the state Agriculture Department. Nor can store owners allow customers to touch the chicks, and they must not sell any other poultry.

Once sold, the chicks cannot be returned to the store and owners must maintain detailed records on customers and suppliers. Every customer must receive a fact sheet on Newcastle disease.

Those rules were established when the region was placed under quarantine last fall, said Larry Cooper, a spokesman for the disease eradication task force.

Although the disease has not been found in Central or Northern California, the task force began a statewide ban of chick sales last month in anticipation of Easter, Cooper said.



North County Times, CA

http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030412/62725.html

Charges will not be pressed in chicken chipping
KATHRYN GILLICK
Staff Writer

The San Diego County district attorney's office said this week that it will not press charges against the farmer who put live chickens into a wood chipper in February.

The investigation into the chipping began after neighbors living near the Ward Egg Ranch on Fruitvale Road in Valley Center called the county animal control office when they saw workers using the machine to chop the birds.

Ranch owner Bill Wilgenburg, who did not return calls Friday, said shortly after the investigation began that he did not think he had done anything wrong because he had been given permission by a veterinarian.

The district attorney's office agreed.

"Wilgenburg had asked the USDA and their representative out here who's a senior veterinarian monitoring the quarantine and the other ranches," office spokeswoman Gayle Stewart said. "They asked his permission to use the wood chipper to process over the 30,000 spent hens. He was granted permission."

Wilgenburg said he had to use a mulcher on about 15,000 of 40,000 chickens at his Valley Center egg ranch because of rules imposed by the federal-state task force on Exotic Newcastle disease.

Wilgenburg said he was not permitted to ship the chickens, which he said were not diseased, to his other farm in Potrero, and he was forbidden to send them to a Central Valley slaughterhouse.

The federal quarantine put in place because of the disease does not allow birds to be moved out of San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Imperial, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura or Riverside counties.

Exotic Newcastle disease was found in a flock of backyard chickens in Compton in October. It was discovered in San Diego County in December after chickens at Ramona Egg Ranch tested positive. It has since spread to the Armstrong Egg ranches on Cole Grade, Mac Tan and Lilac roads in Valley Center; Foster Enterprises, also known as Gross Ranch, on Cole Grade Road in Valley Center; the Fluegge Egg Ranch, on Twain Way in Valley Center; and Ward Egg Ranch on Fruitvale Road in Valley Center.

The infected birds at the Ward Egg Ranch did not belong to Wilgenburg and did not test positive for more than a month after Wilgenburg's chickens were killed.

Stewart said the assistant district attorney assigned to the case, Elizabeth Sylva, found out that using a chipper to kill chickens is a method accepted by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Calls to the American Veterinary Medical Association were not returned Friday.

Animal control officer Mary Kay Gagliardo, who headed the investigation, said Friday that she believes that chipping was animal cruelty.

"We're not happy about it (the district attorney's decision)," she said, "but we understand that they have different standards to meet in court and pretty much understand why they can't charge the gentleman, since he was operating under the direction of a veterinarian."

Contact staff writer Kathryn Gillick at (760) 740-5412 or kgillick@nctimes.com.

4/12/03



San Bernardino Sun, CA

http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~1320423,00.html

Ailment takes chicks from Easter baskets
By ALAN SCHNEPF, Staff Writer

All Pet Feed & Tack store owner Larry Mitchner usually sells 200 to 300 baby chicks every Easter, but this year he can't because of the exotic Newcastle disease outbreak.

Although the rate of spread has slowed during the past several weeks, his San Bernardino store is in a quarantine area.

He could lose as much as $12,000 in Easter sales, he said. Baby chicks are sold for only $1, Mitchner said, but shoppers buy supplies, which usually puts the total sale in the $35 to $40 range.

"I don't want to whine,' he said. "We're not going to go broke, that's for sure. But I can't give employees pay raises.'

Mitchner said he could sell birds if the Newcastle disease eradication task force would send out workers to conduct a third set of tests to prove his business is disease-free. But he said he can't get task-force officials to respond.

"It's probably the most inefficient thing I've ever seen,' Mitchner said. "We've been hounding them to death, trying to get them down here to test. I've got birds sitting here I can't even sell.'

The highly contagious disease was discovered in the Los Angeles County city of Compton last fall and eventually spread to San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

State and federal officials formed a task force late last year to keep Newcastle from spreading and stamp it out. But the disease, which usually kills chickens within days, is highly contagious and is carried easily on clothing, shoes or tires.

Scientists say it poses no danger to people.

But it spreads so easily in the mucus and feces of chickens that officials say it's necessary to kill all birds at an infected site. With some commercial flocks exceeding 1 million birds, containing the disease is not cheap. A joint federal-state task force formed to deal with the disease has killed more than 3.45 million birds and spent more than $100 million.

A quarantine imposed shortly after the disease was discovered forbids taking birds out of affected counties. More than 880 sites have tested positive for the virus, including 22 commercial egg ranches. Another 1,533 are listed as "dangerous contacts,' and have either been "de-populated' or quarantined.

Most of the infections have been found in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, the heart of Southern California's egg industry.

Mitchner's store is under quarantine because it is within one kilometer of an infected site.

The exotic Newcastle eradication task force was criticized for depopulating "dangerous contact' birds, which were not necessarily infected.

Even though the task force hasn't killed any of Mitchner's birds, he's still getting hit in the pocketbook.

Unlike ranchers or backyard bird owners, Mitchner is not compensated for his losses.

Some in affected communities praise the work of the task force.

Among them is Paul Bahan, the owner of AAA Egg Farms in west Riverside Riverside County. He said keeping Newcastle out of the northern part of the state has been "a major accomplishment.'

If the disease spread up there, it would hit turkeys and chickens sold for their meat, which are a much bigger segment of the California economy than eggs.

"If they weren't there to do what they've done with this, they never would have contained it,' Bahan said.

Plus, the spread of the disease appears to have slowed recently.

No new commercial infections have been found since March 26. And during one stretch in February and March, workers went three weeks without finding any new commercial infections.

Nevada and Arizona, both of which had relatively small outbreaks, are believed to be disease-free at this point.

But officials say they're nowhere near eradicating the disease and they don't know when they will be.

"We're still finding the virus in new places,' said Larry Cooper, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The disease was found in backyard flocks in Texas this week, just outside El Paso.

Even before the outbreak or exotic Newcastle disease in California, the state's egg industry was feeling squeezed by competition from the Midwest. Production expenses have exceeded revenues since 1999. And although the egg industry has always had its ups and downs, local farmers say they've never had a slump that lasted this long.

Bahan said egg ranchers who haven't been hit are anxious to make it through Easter without getting infected.

"Nobody's relaxing, the rest of us are holding our breath to get past Easter,' Bahan said. "This would be the worst possible time for anyone to get an outbreak.'

Mitchner also said the task force is paying too much for some birds. Some hens that Mitchner said he never sold for more than $10 are fetching as much as $25 after being killed by the task force.

One ranch in San Diego County has remained under quarantine for weeks, while workers wait to kill infected chickens inside. The task force and the ranch owner have not been able to agree on how much the birds are worth.

But Bahan said the money is well spent.

"If they pull this off, anybody who sits down and runs the numbers will say it's a bargain,' he said.



CIDRAP

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/biosecurity/ag-biosec/news/apr1103end.html

Exotic Newcastle disease turns up in West Texas

Apr 11, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – Exotic Newcastle disease (END) has been found in a backyard chicken flock near El Paso, Tex., prompting a ban on poultry movement in five Texas and New Mexico counties, Texas officials announced yesterday.

The finding makes Texas the fourth state in recent months to face an outbreak of the highly contagious and usually fatal disease, which does not affect humans. More than 3 million chickens have been killed in southern California since October 2002 in an effort to stop the END epidemic there, and cases have also been seen in Nevada and Arizona.

Tests confirmed the presence of END in the El Paso flock late on Apr 9, the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a news release. State and federal officials destroyed the flock earlier this week, but they are concerned that the virus may have spread to other birds in the area, the release said.

State authorities have banned bird and poultry movement in El Paso County, Tex., and Luna, Dona Ana, and Otero counties in New Mexico, Texas officials said. In addition, they said the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was expected to impose a quarantine in those four counties plus Hudspeth County, Tex.

The disease was confirmed only in El Paso County as of Apr 9, said Bob Hillman, Texas state veterinarian. "However, the five counties quarantined in Texas and New Mexico are considered to be a trade area in which there is significant movement of birds and poultry. State and federal authority is being imposed so that disease surveillance, testing, and diagnosis can be conducted."

Hillman said the USDA is paying poultry owners fair market value for birds that must be destroyed.

California's Animal Health Branch reported that more than 3.45 million birds have been euthanized since the southern California END outbreak began. More than 16,209 sites, including 22 commercial poultry farms, have been quarantined, and poultry exhibitions have been banned statewide.



KGTV, CA

http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/news/2107676/detail.html

Charges Dropped For Killing Chickens In Wood Chippers
Wood Chippers Used As 'Industry Standard'
POSTED: 1:06 p.m. PDT April 11, 2003
UPDATED: 1:16 p.m. PDT April 11, 2003
VALLEY CENTER, Calif. -- The owners of San Diego County ranches where employees tossed live chickens into wood chippers won't be prosecuted on animal cruelty charges.

The District Attorney's Office announced Thursday that Valley Center brothers Arie and Bill Wilgenburg didn't commit a crime. The prosecutor says a veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave them permission to use wood chippers to destroy the birds.

District attorney spokeswoman Gayle Stewart says it's an "industry standard."

Bill Wilgenburg says he was doing what experts told him to do with the old, unproductive hens.

He says he thought he was doing the right thing, until county Animal Services investigators arrived at his ranches.

Authorities say the brothers' two ranches used chippers to destroy at least 30,000 hens.

The ranches were unable to send their chickens to what is called a "kill facility" in Northern California because of the exotic Newcastle disease quarantine, which prohibits the movement of poultry from a quarantined county such as San Diego.

On ranches where exotic Newcastle has been found, the USDA kills chickens using carbon dioxide.



Midland Reporter Telegram, TX

http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=7682032&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475621&rfi=6

Far west Texas counties quarantined after bird disease found
Staff Report
The Associated Press
04/11/2003

Authorities are prohibiting the movement of birds and poultry from five New Mexico and Texas counties after laboratory tests confirmed a flock of chickens in El Paso, Texas had Exotic Newcastle Disease.

State and federal officials destroyed the flock earlier this week.

But they are concerned the disease may have already spread to other birds in the surrounding trade area.

The New Mexico Livestock Board has quarantined Luna, Dona Ana and Otero Counties in New Mexico.

In Texas, Hudspeth and El Paso counties are quarantined.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a highly contagious virus.

The disease usually has a two to 15-day incubation period, and infected birds or poultry may exhibit signs of respiratory distress, including gasping or coughing.



North County Times, CA

http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030411/60133.html

Task force doesn't kill all 'dangerous contact' flocks
KATHRYN GILLICK
Staff Writer

Two birds in San Diego County that are believed to have had "dangerous contact" with the deadly virus known as Exotic Newcastle disease have so far been spared the fate of more than 1,000 others.

How?

Through a "compliance agreement" between the owners of the birds ---- both parakeets, and both in Valley Center ---- and the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force.

The agreement places the properties under quarantine but allows the birds to live as long as the owners take certain steps ---- such as disinfecting the soles of their shoes and not sharing equipment or feed with other owners ---- to keep their birds disease-free.

Initially, the task force killed all birds at sites where its employees thought there was "dangerous contact" with infected birds, task force spokesman Larry Cooper said. But that changed in late February or early March after several complaints were made about the practice, he said.

"We had met with the bird industry and some of the community groups, and we had agreed on a policy change that would allow for this to happen," Cooper said.

The four-page agreement allows the task force to test flocks every 15 days that they are under quarantine.

Cooper said that the task force goes door to door in a 1-kilometer radius around an infected site to determine where else the disease may have spread. He said it is during this search that "dangerous contact" sites are found.

When those sites are found, Cooper said, it is up to the veterinarian or epidemiologist in charge to decide if the birds need to be killed or if the owners can sign a compliance agreement.

"It would depend," he said, "on a number of factors: what kind of birds, how close they were to infected properties, if they are epidemiologically connected to infected properties."

Cooper said he did not know if task force officials will tell bird owners if they are eligible for the agreement or if owners must ask.

In San Diego County, six other properties have been deemed to have had "dangerous contact" with Exotic Newcastle. The birds on those properties have been killed, spokesman Adrian Woodfork said Wednesday.

In all, 19 backyard flocks in the county ---- two in Ramona, two in Escondido, and 15 in Valley Center ---- have been "depopulated," or killed.

The disease was first found in a flock of backyard birds in Compton in October. It was discovered in San Diego County in December when birds at Ramona Egg Ranch tested positive.

The disease then spread to the Armstrong Egg ranches on Cole Grade, Mac Tan and Lilac roads in Valley Center; Foster Enterprises, also known as Gross Ranch, on Cole Grade Road in Valley Center; the Fluegge Egg Ranch, on Twain Way in Valley Center; and Ward Egg Ranch on Fruitvale Road in Valley Center.

Exotic Newcastle disease is said to spread so easily through the mucus or feces of infected birds that task force officials say they must kill all birds at a site where it is found.

As the disease spread, the U.S. Department of Agriculture imposed a quarantine on all of San Diego, Riverside, Imperial, Orange, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

In San Diego County, 450,000 birds, or 10 percent of the county's commercial chickens, have been killed. Statewide, more than 3.5 million birds have been killed in the eight Southern California counties were the federal government has imposed a quarantine.

So far, the state-federal task force has spent more than $70 million to fight the disease. Last time Exotic Newcastle disease hit California was in 1971. During that outbreak, the government spent $56 million and three years to eradicate the disease. In that time, 12 million birds were killed.

Contact staff writer Kathryn Gillick at (760) 740-5412 or kgillick@nctimes.com.

4/11/03



Union-Tribune, CA

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20030411-9999_1mi11chip.html

Live hens were put into wood chippers
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 11, 2003

VALLEY CENTER – The owners of two ranches where employees fed thousands of live chickens into wood chippers will not face animal cruelty charges, the District Attorney's Office announced yesterday.

Brothers Arie and Bill Wilgenburg, owners of Escondido-based Ward Poultry Farm, did not commit any crime because a veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave them permission to use wood chippers to destroy the birds, the District Attorney's Office concluded.

"Once they asked and were given permission, there was no criminal intent," said Gayle Stewart, a district attorney's spokeswoman. "It's an industry standard to get rid of hens like this."

Bill Wilgenburg said yesterday that he was simply doing what experts told him to do.

"As a farmer, we did what we thought we had to do to the best of our ability based on what industry experts told us," Wilgenburg said.

He said he thought he was doing the right thing, until county Animal Services investigators arrived at his ranches.

"As soon as we heard that this was what they didn't want, we stopped doing it," he said.

In February, Animal Services investigators were called to a Ward ranch on Fruitvale Road in Valley Center by a neighbor, who said workers were dumping loads of live chickens into a wood chipper. Investigators learned that another Ward ranch, on state Route 94 in Potrero, also was destroying old, unproductive hens the same way.

Wood chippers are typically used by tree-removal companies. A piece of wood is fed into a chipper's funnel-shaped opening, and blades on a rapidly spinning disk or drum cut it into small pieces.

Investigators said the two ranches used the chippers to destroy at least 30,000 hens each and employees continued throwing them into the machinery after they were told to stop. Animal Services Lt. Mary Kay Gagliardo said most of the chickens were alive when put into the chipper.

The ranches were unable to send their chickens to what is called a "kill facility" in Northern California because of the exotic Newcastle disease quarantine, which prohibits the movement of poultry from a quarantined county such as San Diego. Since the hens were no longer producing eggs and could not be sent to Northern California to be destroyed, as Ward had done in the past, there were few options.

On ranches where exotic Newcastle has been found, the USDA kills chickens using carbon dioxide.

Stewart, of the District Attorney's Office, said the use of wood chippers to kill chickens was approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association. No one at the association could be reached for comment yesterday.

In the organization's 2000 report about euthanasia, there is no mention of killing chickens in such a manner.

"Under unusual conditions, such as disease eradication and natural disasters, euthanasia options may be limited," the reports says. "In these situations, the most appropriate technique that minimizes human and animal health concerns must be used. The options include, but are not limited to, CO2 and physical methods such as gunshot, penetrating captive bolt (a projectile shot into the brain) and cervical dislocation (breaking the neck)."

Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, said he does not know of any organization that approves using wood chippers to kill animals. He called the idea absurd.

"I've never heard of anyone resorting to such an extreme practice and I've certainly never heard that any reputable authority would condone it," Pacelle said.

Elizabeth Fitzsimons: (760) 737-7578; elizabeth.fitzsimons@uniontrib.com



Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030411&Category=APF&ArtNo=304110548&Ref=AR

AP Story - Many Sources
Last modified: April 11. 2003 4:22AM
Egg Supplies Good Despite Poultry Disease
By KIM BACA
Associated Press Writer

Despite a drop in egg production after the outbreak of a deadly bird disease, there will be plenty of eggs for Easter. But in California, at least, people trying to buy chicks for the holiday may have a harder time.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture is requiring swap meets and feed and pet stores to sign an agreement detailing new regulations before selling the birds, to prevent a spread of the exotic Newcastle disease.

The new rules include requiring store owners to keep the birds in pens and away from the public. They also require owners to maintain sales records for six months, including names and addresses of chicken hatcheries and store customers, causing some to forego the fowl altogether.

Doves, ducks, geese, grouse, fowl, ostriches, partridges, pheasants, quail, pigeons, ratites, swans and turkeys also are affected by the new rules.

Laverne Papagni, of Heiskell's Feed Depo in Visalia, is one of several store managers who have decided to stop selling chicks because she said it's too much trouble keeping track of the 1,500 to 2,000 birds she normally sells between now and July.

"We would have to fill out quite a few forms," she said.

State agriculture officials imposed the new rules last month after an outbreak of Newcastle disease, which spreads through manure, mucus and eggs. The virus poses no threat to humans.

Nearly 3.4 million birds have been slaughtered in California since October, when the disease was discovered in a backyard flock. So far, state and federal officials have spent $73 million to fight the disease, which has spread to Arizona, Nevada and possibly Texas.

State and federal agriculture officials have declared states of emergency across Southern California and expanded the quarantine zone for the disease.

The quarantine prohibits the movement without approval of all poultry, poultry products and nesting materials in areas hardest hit by Newcastle - Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has quarantined birds and poultry in three New Mexico counties and two Texas counties after tests showed a backyard flock of chickens near El Paso carried the Newcastle disease.

While many feed and pet store owners have opted against selling chicks because of the intensive record keeping, some are still willing.

Rodney Evangelho Jr., owner of Evangelho Seed and Farm Store in Lemoore, is among those because he says it's his busiest time of year. Many in the San Joaquin Valley buy the birds for food - both eggs and meat.

"Our most popular are the laying hens, which are the Road Island Reds and Iraucana, which they claim is the Easter chicken because the egg shells are blue and green," he said.

California's egg production is down after the slaughter of more than 3 million laying hens, but the exotic Newcastle hasn't hurt egg supplies because the state receives eggs from Iowa, Ohio and other top egg-producing states.

Though California is the nation's fifth-largest egg producer, the state doesn't have enough egg producers to supply its 34 million residents.


Media Coverage - Main Page


Ruger Design


All artwork and graphics are the property of Ruger Design and are protected by copyright law. Any reproduction of these graphics without the written permission of Ruger Design is forbidden by law.