There are 10 premises infected with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in B.C. and one in Saskatchewan. The nation estimates 11,099,000 birds are affected, according to the latest data from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. All B.C. cases are in Chilliwack and Abbotsford.

“I think there’s definitely worry and apprehension in the industry, because in the last two years in a row – and this is the third year – the growers have seen HPAI cases around this time,” said Natalie Veles, executive director of British Columbia Turkey.

Why it matters: Avian flu poses a serious risk to Canada’s poultry supply, and migratory birds that land in the Fraser Valley make B.C. farms particularly vulnerable.

Culprits for the new cases are migratory birds, Veles said. Dr. Theresa Burns, B.C.’s chief veterinary officer, agreed. Waterfowl carry avian influenza viruses north to south and they love to rest in standing water in the Fraser Valley, especially during wet years.

“We get large numbers of waterfowl in the Fraser Valley specifically, and they’re shedding the avian influenza virus into the environment,” Burns said.

This particular strain has been infecting farms in the area for three years. Industry groups and the provincial and federal governments have helped producers prepare for and reduce the risk of avian influenza.

“We’ve seen our poultry industry really step up,” Burns said.

Different orders are in place for infected premises under the Animal Health Act. British Columbia Turkey and other poultry groups in the province are working with the CFIA to ensure infected premises are quarantined and quickly managed.

“We’re also sharing a lot of good information as we go through the outbreak,” Veles said. “The industry is handling it the best we can.”

When HPAI is confirmed in poultry through lab testing, the CFIA designates the affected area as an infected premises and places it under quarantine. It may also establish a primary control zone around an infected premises.

Movement of poultry, related products and equipment is restricted within this 10-kilometre radius. Locations of active primary control zones can be viewed on CFIA’s website.

If a flock is located within an active primary control zone, producers must obtain a permit to transport birds, their products or byproducts. Permits apply to both small and commercial flocks.

“We’ve regulated poultry types – broilers, breeders, layers, turkeys, and also on the non-regulated side, with ducks,” Veles said. “And those are the things that we are really trying to work with the CFIA to understand.”

On poultry farms, biosecurity measures include ensuring birds come only from reputable sources and that any sick birds are promptly isolated from the main flock. Introducing new birds should be done sparingly, and newcomers, as well as those returning from exhibitions, should be isolated before integration. Implementing an all-in, all-out movement for flock management is advisable where feasible, the sector has been told.

Good biosecurity protocols require regular cleaning and disinfection of poultry houses, equipment, clothing and footwear used by handlers. A specific area should be designated for cleaning vehicles and equipment. Dead birds and damaged eggs should be promptly disposed of, and plastic crates should be used for bird transport, protocols indicate.

Such protocols also require restricted access for visitors, and measures to prevent other birds, rodents, pets or wildlife from interacting with the flock. Accurate records of people, animals and equipment moving on and off the premises should be kept.

Veles said she hopes that, in working with producers, the CFIA and other groups, they may discover other risk factors that will allow better control of future outbreaks.

“We need to know what those risk factors are to be able to respond better,” she said.

The CFIA is working with the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Food and industry groups to respond to current infections, a spokesperson for the CFIA wrote in an Oct. 30 email.

Around 145,000 birds have been affected by HPIA at the six premises in B.C. All have been humanely killed and disposed of, the CFIA said. Manure, feathers and other material that could spread the disease are disposed of as well, and all premises go through cleaning and disinfection overseen by the CFIA.

“The continued detections of HPAI in both wild and domestic birds in Canada is a strong reminder for anyone raising birds to remain vigilant of HPAI and ensure they have effective biosecurity measures in place,” the spokesperson wrote.

If this year follows the same pattern as the previous two, Burns is hopeful that cases of HPAI will drop off in December.

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However, no decision to vaccinate has yet been made, Rosemary Sifford, who is also deputy administrator of the veterinary services program at the Department of Agriculture (USDA), told Reuters at the general session of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) in Paris.

The conference has been focusing on highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu.

The severity of the current outbreak of bird flu has led some governments to reconsider vaccinating poultry, but others such as the United States have been remain reluctant, citing trade curbs this would entail.

“Any vaccination strategy would need to be a very focused strategy… I would certainly not expect to do a widespread vaccination if we were to choose that path,” Sifford said.

“We would be looking at a very specific targeted potentially geographic- and species-oriented that maybe focus on certain turkeys in a certain area. These are the country scenarios that we have been talking through,” she added.

Regionalization and compartmentalization per farms or species are allowed under WOAH rules and often reduce the risk of having country-wide trade barriers.

Turkey meat is expected to account for about 10 per cent of total U.S. poultry production in 2023 and exports are expected to account for about seven per cent of total turkey production, USDA data showed. In contrast, exports of chicken meat are estimated at about 16 per cent.

Sifford sees “no positive impact” in vaccinating chickens since they have a short lifespan.

“For us, turkeys have been the species most affected in terms of facilities,” she said.

The National Turkey Federation, which represents U.S. farmers and processors, supports the development of a vaccine, its president said.

USDA said in November that more than 70 per cent of commercial poultry farms affected in the 2022 outbreak were turkey farms.

USDA told Reuters on Friday that it continued to research vaccine options against bird flu to “protect poultry from this persistent threat” but still considers biosecurity measures to be the most effective tool for mitigating the virus.

— Sybille de La Hamaide is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Paris; additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago.

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“They just showed up and walked right in,” said Frankie Hofer, manager of the colony’s poultry operations and feed mill. “The guy that lives here, he’s getting his house remodelled so he was in a different place. It was just like a normal day when you go to work. They were inside the barn when we arrived.”

The first person on site in the morning noticed some people along the highway, but didn’t think anything of it.

But the people inside the barn definitely made an impression. Wearing disposable coveralls, booties, gloves, and filter masks along with matching T-shirts, they sat lined up against the walls, filming, taking pictures, and live-streaming video footage to Instagram and Facebook.

The occupied turkey barn, containing about 4,000 birds, is one of eight free-range barns on the site — which means the birds are free to go outside into an enclosed area when the weather is warm enough and can access water and food when they want to.

The animal activists weren’t part of a specific group but instead organized themselves via word of mouth to conduct what they call a “Liberation Lockdown.” Similar protests have been staged in Ontario and B.C., but not in Alberta before.

Hofer and the other members of the colony were concerned about both the illegal break and entry and biosecurity.

“We don’t know where these people were before they showed up. They just walked into one of our barns,” said Hofer.

“This is private property. We have big signs that say ‘Do Not Enter — Private Property.’ Even if they would have come through the main road, they would have seen the sign.

“But that doesn’t mean anything. They jumped through the fence on the highway.”

No name, no leader

Kennadi Herbert, an animal rights activist from Pincher Creek, said the ad hoc group of people decided to stage a protest in Alberta after a similar protest in April at Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford, B.C. In that incident, about 50 people entered a hog barn, while more than 100 others stood outside waving signs and chanting slogans. Herbert said she was part of that protest along with Sarah Barnes, another activist who also participated in the Jumbo Valley demonstration.

“(Excelsior) was our first huge act of civil disobedience and so right away, we wanted to plan something new,” said Herbert, who said she has been involved in the animal rights movement for about a year.

The group doesn’t have an official name or leader, she said. Instead, it was organized by word of mouth, with people calling others they knew and trusted to participate, she said. Activists came from Edmonton, Calgary, the Bow Valley area, B.C., Saskatchewan, Ontario, New York, the UK, and Australia said Herbert.

The protesters, who ranged in age from seven to about 60, got school buses to drop them off, and many lined the road, holding signs calling for an end to animal agriculture. They chose the Jumbo Valley Hutterite Colony farm because of its location, and because they wanted to do an action involving turkeys. Other recent world animal liberation actions have involved dairy and pork, and the activists wanted to raise awareness about the treatment of poultry,

“The idea behind the action was to bring awareness to factory farming and animal agriculture,” said Herbert. “We’re vegan. We just want transparency into everything. A lot of people don’t want to see their food as the individuals they are. We were just wanting to show that.”

Herbert was part of the inside team and said she was the one who called the police. The outside team, which lined the highways, was made up of about 50 people who wanted to bring attention to animal rights and support the inside protesters, but who didn’t want to trespass or involve themselves in illegal activity.

“We wanted to make sure it got as much attention as possible,” said Barnes. “We were banking on more highway traffic.”

Social media was key to their publicity strategy but the activists also wanted mainstream media attention and their protest drew TV crews from Calgary.

Herbert said when she called 911 and asked for police to come down and mediate the “negotiations” with colony officials, the 911 operator laughed.

“The dispatcher said, ‘If you’re in there illegally, the RCMP won’t be defending you guys.’”

Turkey ‘liberation’

The RCMP had arrived by the time Hofer got on site.

“We talked to the RCMP and they communicated with them,” said Hofer. “We just wanted them to leave, and (for the police) to take them out of our barns. But then the RCMP decided they didn’t want to get violent, so they wanted there to be a different way of going about this.”

The activists asked to go through all eight of the turkey barns, for the media to have access so they could film the protest, and to “liberate” five turkeys, who would live out their lives in an animal sanctuary.

Hofer said the farmers had nothing to hide, so they allowed the media to come onto the property. However, since it was a holiday, it took longer for the media crews to arrive.

“I don’t know if we did the right thing or not, but that’s what happened. So then they looked in every barn,” said Hofer.

Barnes, Herbert, and another activist named Max Mah, who is affiliated with an animal rights group called “Direct Action” joined the media on their tour.

The activists claim they saw birds with tumours, twisted legs, infections and an inability to walk.

However, Cara Prout, executive director of Alberta Turkey Producers, said the Jumbo Valley Colony’s operation is not considered to have welfare problems.

“We don’t believe this farm was targeted on account of animal care concerns,” said Prout. “We believe it was targeted solely because the individuals that trespassed do not agree with raising livestock for consumption.”

After being allowed to take five turkeys, the activists left the site after about five hours. The RCMP is conducting an investigation, and are considering laying charges. The colony has been urged by many farmers to press charges.

More protests ahead?

Alberta Turkey Producers has been in communication with the Jumbo Valley Colony and other turkey producers since the incident.

“What we’re doing at this point in time, is we’re encouraging producers to be vigilant of their security practices, and to take extra security measures,” said Prout. “Make sure they have locks on their barns, they have gates up, they are reporting suspicious activity.”

Many livestock organizations are considering ways to deal with animal activists who trespass, said Annemarie Pedersen, executive director for Alberta Farm Animal Care.

“AFAC’s perspective on this is that if you feel you want to do something for the benefit of the animals, the last thing you should do is be walking into a facility without understanding what you are walking into,” said Pedersen, adding the issue is on the agenda for the organization’s Livestock Care Conference in March.

“A lot of these animals are very calm, and they are in an environment that keeps them happy and calm, and when random people charge in, that changes that dynamic. From our perspective, that is not animal welfare.”

It’s also a criminal offence, she added.

“That’s not even talking about the biosecurity issues we have right now, and how critical it is to keep bacteria or illnesses out. African swine fever is top of my mind when I talk about this.”

Neither her organization nor the SPCA has been involved with Jumbo Valley turkey operation, she said.

“The barn they went into had no animal welfare issues,” said Pedersen. “The birds were taken care of according to the fairly strict standards that Alberta Turkey has in place for their producers.

“(The protesters) are not in there about animal welfare. They’re in there to get meat off the table.”

Barnes confirmed this.

“We’re not advocating for better conditions or a better way of doing the wrong thing,” she said.

“We’re about animal rights. Animals deserve the right to be free. Even if a farm treats animals well, at the end of the day, they get sent to slaughter.

“We’re not for animal welfare, we’re definitely animal rights, and will try to make sure these animals don’t need to be slaughtered.”

Herbert said that the “Liberation Lockdown” was deemed a success by the activists, and more protests like this one are being planned all over the world, which could include Alberta.

“Whether there are more actions that I am involved in, or more actions around the world, there will definitely be more civil disobedience in the animal rights movement,” she said.

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The couple started their agriculture careers in the feed industry and Marc worked at a large broiler farm in order to gain hands-on farming experience. In 2012, they were offered the opportunity to run Pine Valley Family Farm, where they managed all of the poultry production.

Over the past five years of producing turkeys, the couple, who have three children, have been able to double their production every year, going from 450,000 kilograms in their first year to 1.65 million kilograms in 2015. They are also involved in their community by hosting a local county agricultural farm tour and several university student group tours.

“It was inspiring to see such a passionate group of farmers that are all doing such amazing things for agriculture in Alberta,” said Harvey Walsh, deputy mayor of Olds, where this year’s event was held.

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ program began in 1979 in Alberta and became a national event in 1980. The annual competition recognizes farmers aged 18 to 39 who exemplify excellence in their profession and promote agriculture. Two national winners will be chosen at the national event in Penticton, B.C., which runs from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3.

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