California's poultry farms are under siege from a vicious avian flu, with nearly 5.5 million birds across the state having succumbed to the disease or been put down to prevent its spread since the outbreak's beginnings in October, reported SFGATE. This includes a staggering 1.15 million birds in Sonoma County alone. While egg prices in the Golden State remain steady as of Jan. 3, according to the USDA, the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has pulverized local businesses and could ripple into Sonoma County stores, with President of the California Poultry Federation, Bill Mattos, noting, "These are very popular Sonoma businesses, and their eggs are sought after."
Adding to the turmoil, in late December, two commercial egg farms in Sonoma, and one in Marin County were hit with outbreaks, accounting for over 242,000 affected birds, per data from the USDA. Liberty Ducks, a major duck farm supplying Bay Area fine dining establishments, and Sunrise Farms, which lost thousands of egg-laying chickens, have been among those publicly confirming cases. The financial toll is not to be understated, and a GoFundMe for Liberty Ducks has already gathered upwards of $183,000 in the wake of the disaster, SFGATE notes.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has been scrambling to contain and respond to the virus, which first reared its ugly head stateside in February 2022, as reported by the agency's website. Since that initial detection, the HPAI has led to the culling of around 80 million birds nationwide, a blow to an industry with over 368.2 million egg-layers and billions of broilers and turkeys. The USDA emphasizes the importance of biosecurity for bird owners to curb the spread of the virus and reduce wildlife interactions.
The recent outbreaks across Sonoma County, which usually rakes in about $50 million annually from its poultry ventures, have local farmers on edge, as detailed by the North Bay Business Journal. The region, known for its cluster of farms west of Petaluma, had to undertake the grim task of euthanizing over 90,000 birds on Dec. 28 alone. And although HPAI poses a minimal risk to humans, the economic and emotional toll on the poultry industry and its workers is certainly high.
