Reading Time: < 1 minute After soaring sharply in September, no commercial poultry operations in Alberta were hit by H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza during the first three weeks of October. As of Oct. 24, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website had only four incidents for the month. Three were for “non-poultry” and the lone poultry flock was a non-commercial […] Read more
Avian flu cases drop in October
Avian flu circles back to Quebec
Saskatchewan's bird mingling ban held over
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu have returned to Quebec’s poultry sector after a lull of just over two months, while more Canadian cases continue to pile up at points west. Canada’s fall migratory season for wild birds appears to have led to the return of outbreaks in both commercial and backyard poultry flocks and […] Read more
Pork packer Olymel laying off dozens of managers
Market unpredictability, 'growth challenges' cited
Major Canadian pork and poultry packer Olymel has laid off 57 people from its management ranks and eliminated another 120 administrative positions, citing the company’s current “market context and growth challenges.” Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Cooperative Group, said Tuesday its affected employees were notified Monday and have received their layoff notices. […] Read more
Thanksgiving in a time of bird flu
North America's poultry sector is embroiled in a fall surge of avian influenza, even as turkey demand hits one of its annual peaks
It’s the final stretch until Thanksgiving, but anyone hoping to bring their raw bird over the border may be disappointed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public that raw poultry, including turkey, from restricted areas of the U.S. will not be allowed past the international border due to the ongoing fight with […] Read more
More penguins dying of avian flu at Cape Town colony
Visitors urged to disinfect shoes to prevent virus' spread elsewhere
Cape Town | Reuters — More penguins have died from avian flu at the colony at Cape Town’s Boulders beach, a popular tourist attraction and an important breeding site in South Africa, raising concerns for the species and for other seabirds. David Roberts, a clinical veterinarian at the South African Foundation For The Conservation Of […] Read more
Saskatchewan, Ontario ban birds at events
Bans back on as fall migratory season underway, avian flu cases stack up
At least two provinces now have bans in place on birds being brought to fall ag fairs and other such events, as cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza pick up again in Canada’s domestic birds. Ontario — which had such a ban in place this spring — reinstated it effective Sept. 23 through to Oct. […] Read more
Avian flu cases steadily rising
Reading Time: < 1 minute The number of cases of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza continues to grow on an almost daily basis as migratory birds head south. As of Sept. 26, there were more than 140 cases with 2.7 million birds affected, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Alberta has been hardest hit with one-third of the cases […] Read more
Avian flu returns to southwestern Ontario
More cases also turn up in western provinces
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has circled back to Ontario for the first time in four months with an outbreak in a commercial poultry flock in Oxford County. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Friday confirmed the outbreak at a farm in the township of Zorra, about 20 km east of London. Details on the […] Read more
Alberta bears brunt of avian influenza outbreak
Half of Canadian poultry losses have occurred here and officials fear the deadly virus will be a recurring threat
Reading Time: 3 minutes The most widespread avian influenza outbreak in Canadian history is still affecting Alberta. Three commercial poultry operations tested positive in late August and early September for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, bringing Alberta’s total to 35, according to an emergency task force set up by the province’s four poultry associations. More cases are expected this […] Read more
Avian flu circles back in Western Canada
All western provinces book new cases in commercial birds
A relatively quiet summer for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Canada has turned for the worse, with outbreaks on commercial poultry farms in all four western provinces in the past week alone. Cases of high-path avian flu in domestic birds in Canada confirmed and reported by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency since Aug. 31 include: […] Read more
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