New York duck farm to kill flock of 100,000 after bird flu outbreak

• The outbreak is a major blow to the region’s duck farming industry, as Crescent Duck Farm is one of the last commercial duck farms on Long Island.
• Farm president Doug Corwin said he was devastated by the situation, describing it as a personal and historic loss.
• This incident follows a recent case of avian flu at a commercial poultry plant in Georgia, highlighting continued concern about the spread of the virus.
• Avian influenza continues to impact poultry populations nationwide, contributing to rising egg prices and prompting increased surveillance and testing measures.

A Long Island farm reportedly euthanized more than 100,000 ducks after an outbreak of bird flu hit the East New York facility.

Staff at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, New York, noticed many birds were sick, according to Newsday and local station WABC-TV. They later tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which infects people, pets and poultry across the United States.

Crescent Duck Farm President Doug Corwin said euthanasia is especially devastating because Long Island was once known for its large duck farming industry. The company is the largest commercial duck farm in Suffolk County and one of the last on Long Island, WABC reported.

The family farm has been in operation since 1908, WABC reported.

“You’re constantly monitoring your flock, three times a day. One day things seemed unusual. I noticed a few lethargic birds that didn’t seem well,” Corwin told Newsday. “It’s my legacy. I think we’re kind of iconic, being that we’re what Long Island was known for. And I just don’t want it to end that way.”

But the entire herd must be killed for public safety, Suffolk County Health Commissioner Gregson Pigott told the station.

“Unfortunately, in a situation like this, where a herd is infected, the cure is to cull the entire herd,” he said.

Bird flu detected at commercial poultry plant in Georgia

Last week, bird flu reached a northeast Georgia poultry plant, marking the fifth positive case of HPAI in the state and the first case at a commercial poultry operation, officials confirmed. State.

The case was traced to a facility in Elbert County, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, confirmed Friday.

Authorities on Friday imposed a quarantine on all commercial poultry operations within a 10.2-mile radius, with surveillance testing to follow for at least two weeks. All poultry exhibitions, shows, trades, meets and sales in the state have been suspended until further notice, the department said.

“This is a serious threat to Georgia’s No. 1 industry and to the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians who make a living from our state’s poultry industry,” said Poultry Commissioner Tyler Harper. agriculture of the state, in a press release. “We are working around the clock to mitigate any further spread of the disease and ensure that normal poultry operations in Georgia can resume as quickly as possible.”

Avian flu: what you need to know now

Avian flu has plagued the world since 1997, but until recent years it was largely confined to wild birds. Since its emergence in 2020 in Europe, the current strain of avian flu, H5N1, has been declared the largest avian flu epidemic ever experienced on this continent and has spread to Africa, the Middle East and the Asia.

The bird flu strain emerged in the United States in late 2021. Since April 2024, a total of 61 human cases of H5 bird flu have been reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Earlier this month, the first person to die from bird flu in the United States was reported on January 6 by the Louisiana Department of Public Health. The patient was over 65 years old and had underlying health conditions.

Last December, bird flu concerns led to the recall of a line of cat foods from Northwest Naturals after health officials linked the death of a cat to a batch of food contaminated with bird flu. The USDA also began testing milk nationwide to combat avian flu outbreaks in dairy herds.

The spread of bird flu among poultry flocks in the United States is also causing egg prices to soar. As of January 6, the virus has affected more than 138 million poultry in 50 U.S. states since January 2022, according to the CDC.