State Asks Chicken and Turkey Owners to Report Location, Size of Flocks

Got chickens or turkeys? How many? Where are they?

In anticipation of a possible outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, those are the questions the state Department of Environmental Management are asking chicken owners in Rhode Island.

The disease has not been found in Rhode Island but “DEM is taking steps now to control HPAI should it spread to the Ocean State,” according to a Wednesday news release. “As part of these preparations the Department is reaching out to all poultry owners, including commercial as well as backyard or hobby breeders, and asking them to voluntarily notify DEM of the location of their poultry and the approximate number and type of birds they possess.”

The state has developed a HPAI response plan which lays out the steps that would be taken to protect public and animal health if the disease is detected.

“The sooner DEM can identify the location of poultry within a control zone, the sooner the surveillance testing can take place and the sooner the control zone can be released if all testing is found to be negative. That is why the information from poultry owners about the location and number of birds they have is so important,” the DEM said.

From the DEM:

Poultry owners are asked to download a form from the DEM website that will capture all of the necessary information. The form is available at http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/agricult/pdf/hpai_readiness.pdf Completed forms should be emailed to the RI State Veterinarian at scott.marshall@dem.ri.gov or mailed to Scott Marshall, DVM, RI State Veterinarian, c/o RI DEM/Division of Agriculture, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI, 02908.

DEM urges poultry owners to take simple, precautionary steps now to protect their poultry. These biosecurity precautions can be viewed at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/downloads/animal_diseases/ai/HPAIchecklist.pdf (more appropriate for commercial operations) and http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov/ (which is general information tailored more to hobbyists and non-commercial poultry owners).

The US Department of Agriculture considers HPAI to be among the worst animal disease outbreaks in American history. Currently, HPAI has been found in 21 Western and Midwestern states. As of August 5, 2015, there have been 232 affected premises in those states. Nearly 50 million chickens and turkeys have died as a result of infection or control measures to stop the spread of this disease. Thankfully this strain of HPAI has not been reported to affect people, but public health officials continue to pay close attention to note any changes in that pattern and continue to prohibit the introduction of infected poultry products into the food chain.