It’s shaping up as another November of pain for commercial poultry operators in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley as avian influenza is again wreaking havoc with 41 operations hit with outbreaks in November.
The outbreaks follow four outbreaks at commercial operations in October after a relatively calm spring that saw only one B.C. farm hit in April.
November 2022 saw 31 commercial poultry operators in B.C. hit with quarantines and requirements to euthanize hundreds of thousands of birds as outbreaks hit the Fraser Valley, which stretches through the south from Vancouver to Hope, all through the month with cases continuing into January.
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Alberta has largely been spared during the month with only two commercial operations impacted and four non-commercial farms hit in November in areas across the province.
In total, seven commercial operations have been impacted this fall. in Alberta which began with a September case in Warner County with the latest case being on Nov. 26 in Lac Ste. Anne County after a spring in which only one non-commercial farm was found with a case.
Saskatchewan has recorded seven commercial poultry operations with outbreaks, while Manitoba has only lodged a single such instance.
More than 9.5 million birds have been euthanized since the latest avian influenza outbreak began in the spring of 2022.
B.C. has recorded the highest total of bird deaths by far with more than 5.1 million requiring to be put down. Alberta has seen 1.7 million birds affected with both Quebec and Ontario seeing under a million each.
Contact alex.mccuaig@producer.com
