Pasadena Star News, CA
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/Stories/0,1413,206~22097~1461586,00.html
Article Published: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 8:41:14 PM PST
Karen Key, Nursery Supervisor at Discount Bird Supplies in Reseda,
gives a kiss to Frida, a parrot that is one of the young birds she
is raising for customers.
Bird disease being controlled
Newcastle disease wanning
By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY --Members of a task force that fights Exotic Newcastle disease are optimistic they're getting a handle on the virus that has forced the destruction of 3.5 million birds in Southern California.
But testing on birds, chickens and other fowl will continue, authorities said.
Crews will be going into Hacienda Heights, La Puente, Pico Rivera, Rosemead and West Covina looking for signs of the highly contagious disease, said Gilbert Vigil, a member of the joint federal and state task force.
"Some of these areas might have had some inspections in the past," Vigil said. "We are going back and picking up some volunteers (pet owners) to have their birds tested."
Quarantines preventing bird owners from buying birds or taking birds off their properties may be lifted in Imperial, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties if the next round of testing comes up clean, officials said.
Los Angeles County could follow.
But it's not soon enough for Chris Ashenbrenner, owner of the Feed Bag in La Puente, which sells all types of household birds. Sales are down and Ashenbrenner said she thinks the disease has a lot to do with the dip.
"It has affected sales," she said. "There's no movement."
Exotic Newcastle disease affects a bird's respiratory, nervous and digestive systems. It can wipe out poultry flocks that haven't been vaccinated.
The disease can spread through contact with bird droppings and secretions and can be carried on shoes, clothing or equipment, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A bird considered at high risk for infection, meaning it could have come into contact with a diseased bird, is euthanized immediately. Owners can appeal the death sentence.
The Los Angeles County Fair, which will be held Sept. 12-28 at the Fairplex in Pomona, will not have any birds this year because of the outbreak.
"We'll have a featherless Fair. We want to be as cautious as we can in not spreading the disease," Fair spokeswoman Wendy Talarico said.
The Exotic Newcastle disease task force is operated jointly by the U.S. and California agriculture departments. Spokesman Larry Cooper said only four new infections were reported in May and none so far this month in Southern California.
"We are doing door-to-door surveys in eight counties, but not all at once," Cooper said. "The way we locate infected birds is through our survey, a hot line where sick birds are reported and by taking samples. That's what they have been doing for the last seven months."
Cooper said the last commercial infected property was found in San Diego County on March 25. The task force plans to take 400 bird samples in each of the eight counties.
For some, there is a lingering distrust of the state and federal veterinary officials running the task force.
Bird owners were horrified that the task force destroyed ducks, parrots and backyard chickens, sometimes without testing the pets for the infection. Others felt the task force has been too secretive in not releasing bird testing results and hasn't applied rules evenly to different communities.
"Because this was an emergency project quickly put into place, there were bound to be people not trained properly. That has been addressed," Cooper said.
The task force started sensitivity training and stepped up contact with bird owner associations to let people know they can appeal a kill-order or sign an agreement to allow a so-called high-risk bird to live if proper precautions are taken.
The outbreak was discovered in October in Compton, among a backyard flock of chickens. Infected birds were found in Los Angeles County, including in the San Gabriel Valley, and in Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
-- Staff Writer Kerry Cavanaugh contributed to this story. Marianne Love can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2108, or by e-mail at marianne.love@sgvn.com.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, CA
http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~1461586,00.html
Article Published: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 8:41:14 PM PST
Bird disease being controlled
Newcastle disease wanning
By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer
WHITTIER -- Seven months after imposing quarantine zones in parts of Whittier
and Pico Rivera and after destroying 3.5 million birds in Southern California
agriculture officials say they're winning the battle against an outbreak of
Exotic Newcastle Disease.
Officials are now conducting surveys in 80 counties around the state to gauge
the effectiveness of the massive eradication program launched in October. Local
quarantine zones were imposed in Whittier and Pico Rivera in December.
The surveys involve gathering 500 blood samples from each of the 80 counties,
sending the samples to labs for testing, then determining whether the quarantine
zones can be safely lifted in previously impacted areas, said Larry Cooper,
spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force, operated jointly by the
U.S. and California agriculture departments.
Survey workers are now fanning out in "buffer zones' - counties where no
instances of Exotic Newcastle Disease have been found then afterward will "work
into the center' of the infectious regions, primarily Los Angeles, Riverside and
San Bernardino counties, Cooper said.
Quarantine zones imposed in those three counties would be the last to be lifted,
if no traces of the disease are found, he added.
"If we don't find any more infected properties and everything goes as it is now,
we could be wrapped up (with the eradication program) by the end of the year,'
he said.
So far, task force officials are pleased by the progress of their efforts, which
they're crediting with stemming a much wider spread of the disease. Exotic
Newcastle is deadly to birds and had threatened to decimate the state's
multimillion-dollar poultry industry.
"We're very happy,' Cooper said. "We haven't had a commercial infestation since
March 25, and the backyard finds have really diminished. I think the quick
action of getting in there with this program is the reason why.'
In December, task force members slaughtered dozens of backyard chickens in Pico
Rivera, where an infected flock was discovered. Officials also imposed
quarantine zones there and in parts of unincorporated Whittier.
Officials also placed under quarantine a pen area at the Southeast Area Animal
Control Authority shelter in Downey, after animal control officers broke up a
cock fight in December and brought the confiscated roosters to SEAACA's shelter.
Pico Rivera resident Larry Benitez complained in December that officials arrived
at his Durfee Avenue home with warrant that allowed them to confiscate and kill
his pet cockatiel, Brinana, even though an earlier test indicated his pet was
negative for the disease.
However, officials said they took the action because Benitez lives near a home
where they discovered a flock of infested backyard chickens. Other area
residents worried their pets might be next.
Across the state, bird owners were horrified that the task force destroyed
ducks, parrots and backyard chickens, sometimes without testing the pets for the
infection. Others felt the task force has been too secretive in not releasing
bird testing results, and hasn't applied rules evenly to different communities.
Cooper said strong actions were needed early on in the task force's fight to
eradicate the local outbreak.
"Because this was an emergency project quickly put into place, there were bound
to be people not trained properly. That has been addressed,' he said.
The task force started sensitivity training and stepped up contact with bird
owner associations to let people know they can appeal a kill order or sign an
agreement to allow a so- called high-risk bird to live if proper precautions are
taken.
The outbreak was first discovered in October in Compton, among a backyard flock
of chickens. Infected birds were later found in other parts of Los Angeles, as
well as in Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Exotic Newcastle is a highly contagious and fatal virus that affects a bird's
respiratory, nervous and digestive systems. It can wipe out unvaccinated poultry
flocks and is dangerous even to vaccinated chickens.
The disease can be spread through contact with bird droppings and secretions and
can be carried on shoes, clothing or equipment, according to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
State briefs in The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, CA
http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories2003/state/20030617014203.shtml
Officials: Bird disease quarantine may be eased
LOS ANGELES -- After seven months and 3.5 million birds destroyed, agriculture
officials say they are getting a handle on exotic Newcastle disease, the scourge
of Southern California chicken flocks and the fear of pet-bird owners.
Eradication teams are still going door to door examining poultry, parrots and
other pet birds for signs of the highly contagious virus. They reported only
four new infections in May and none so far in June. Officials hope to remove the
quarantine in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Imperial counties if the next round of
testing comes up clean.
"By the end of the year we're hopeful that eradication will end the quarantine
in the area," said Adrian Woodfork, spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease
Task Force, operated jointly by the U.S. and California Agriculture departments.
Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA
http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21474~1459727,00.html
Exotic Newcastle cases are now few
Virus: Quarantine may soon be lifted; bird owners say their trust is gone.
By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff writer
June 17, 2003
After seven months and 3.5 million birds destroyed, agriculture officials say
they are getting a handle on Exotic Newcastle Disease, the scourge of Southern
California chicken flocks and the fear of pet bird owners.
Eradication teams are still going door-to-door examining poultry, parrots and
other pet birds for signs of the highly contagious virus. They reported only
four new infections in May and none so far in June. Officials hope to remove the
quarantine in Ventu ra, Santa Barbara and Imperial counties if the next round of
testing comes up clean.
"By the end of the year we're hopeful that eradication will end the quarantine
in the area,' said Adrian Woodfork, spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease
Task Force, operated jointly by the U.S. and California Agriculture departments.
Even as officials prepare to lift restrictions, some bird owners say they'll
never again feel the safety and freedom they felt before the outbreak.
"People tease me that I've built a bubble around my birds. I'll probably keep
the bubble around them ... You just don't know what diseases are lurking out
there,' said Michelle Velez of Van Nuys, who likely never will never again take
her cockatoo, Shadow, to bird club meetings or farmers markets.
"It hasn't taken the joy of being a bird parent away, but it's definitely
changed things,' Velez said.
Bird owners were horrified that the task force destroyed ducks, parrots and
backyard chickens, sometimes without testing the pets for the infection. Others
felt the task force has been too secretive in not releasing bird testing
results.
"The government did some horrid things early in the crisis,' said Jim Adlhoch, a
West Hills resident who has been lobbying for more humane treatment of companion
birds. "People will distrust the government for a long time.'
Larry Cooper, another task force spokesman, conceded problems in the beginning.
"Because this was an emergency project quickly put into place there were bound
to be people not trained properly. That has been addressed.'
The task force started sensitivity training and stepped up contact with bird
owner associations to let people know they can appeal a kill order.
The outbreak was discovered last October in Compton, among a backyard flock of
chickens. Exotic Newcastle is a highly contagious and fatal virus that affects a
bird's respiratory, nervous and digestive systems. It can be spread through
contact with bird droppings and secretions.
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~1459430,00.html
Good news for birds
Disease quarantine may end soon
By Kerry Cavanaugh
Staff Writer
June 17, 2003
After seven months and 3.5 million birds destroyed, agriculture officials say
they are getting a handle on exotic Newcastle disease, the scourge of Southern
California chicken flocks and the fear of pet-bird owners.
Eradication teams are still going door to door examining poultry, parrots and
other pet birds for signs of the highly contagious virus. They reported only
four new infections in May and none so far in June. Officials hope to remove the
quarantine in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Imperial counties if the next round of
testing comes up clean.
"By the end of the year we're hopeful that eradication will end the quarantine
in the area," said Adrian Woodfork, spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease
Task Force, operated jointly by the U.S. and California Agriculture departments.
Even as officials prepare to lift restrictions, some bird owners say they'll
never again feel the safety and freedom they felt before the outbreak.
"People tease me that I've built a bubble around my birds. I'll probably keep
the bubble around them. ... You just don't know what diseases are lurking out
there," said Michelle Velez of Van Nuys, who likely never again will take her
cockatoo, Shadow, to bird-club meetings or farmers markets.
Bird groups and farm clubs might be more wary of socializing for fear of
spreading disease, some enthusiasts said.
"It hasn't taken the joy of being a bird parent away, but it's definitely
changed things," Velez said. For some, there also is a lingering distrust of the
state and federal veterinary officials running the task force.
Bird owners were horrified that the task force destroyed ducks, parrots and
backyard chickens, sometimes without testing the pets for the infection. Others
felt the task force has been too secretive in not releasing bird-testing
results, and hasn't applied rules evenly to different communities.
"The government did some horrid things early in the END crisis," said Jim
Adlhoch, a West Hills resident who has been following the task force and
lobbying for more humane treatment of companion birds. 'People will distrust the
government for a long time."
Larry Cooper, another task force spokesman, conceded there were problems in the
beginning. "Because this was an emergency project quickly put into place there
were bound to be people not trained properly. That has been addressed."
The task force started sensitivity training and stepped up contact with
bird-owner associations to let people know they can appeal a kill order or sign
an agreement to allow a so-called high-risk bird to live if proper precautions
are taken.
The outbreak was discovered last October, in Compton, among a backyard flock of
chickens. Infected birds were found in Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino
counties, as well as in Sylmar and the Antelope, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel
valleys.
There were some scares in the San Fernando Valley, including three birds in
Reseda that were destroyed because they exhibited symptoms, but turned out to be
free of the virus, Cooper said. Earlier this week, a Sylmar man was allowed to
keep his flock of 50 chickens after tests came back negative on two sick
chickens that had been euthanized.
Task force teams were seen knocking on doors in Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks and
Granada Hills.
Exotic Newcastle is a highly contagious and fatal virus that affects a bird's
respiratory, nervous and digestive systems. It can wipe out unvaccinated poultry
flocks and is dangerous even to vaccinated chickens.
The disease can be spread through contact with bird droppings and secretions and
can be carried on shoes, clothing or equipment, according to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
A bird considered at high risk of infection, meaning it or its owner could have
come into contact with a diseased bird, is euthanized immediately. Owners can
appeal the death sentence.
Pigeon racer Rusty Williams said his Sylmar home was quarantined because a
neighbor's chickens tested positive for the virus. He would normally train baby
pigeons to fly and return home, but the birds cannot leave the property until
the quarantine is lifted.
"I think we're being unfairly targeted. People, dogs, cats can be just as much
of a carrier than a racing pigeon, and there's no quarantine on them."
Other bird owners are more tolerant of the quarantine and have embraced
biosecurity as the buzzword in the bird-lover community.
At Discount Bird and Pet Supplies in Reseda, owner Rochelle Tesoriero has
stopped boarding or grooming birds. She installed a specialized mat with
disinfectant that visitors clean their shoes on before entering the store. Her
birds, once on display, are now closed to visitors.
Velez adopted a stringent routine to protect her 18 birds.
She moved all her birds from the living room to a den with a door. She's got a
foot bath full of disinfectant at the door and a bottle of hand sanitizer that
she uses on her hands and lower arms. In the house, she throws her clothes in
the laundry and showers before going to check on her birds.
"No one comes into my house. Even my parents don't come over," Velez said.
KXTS-TV, TX
http://www.ktsm.com/news/story.ssd?c=48d5f83671674509
Pet Birds for Sale Again
June 16, 2003
For almost three weeks, pet store owners have been unable to sell birds in El
Paso because of the threat of a very contagious bird disease. But now those
restrictions have been lifted.
Wednesday, May 07, 2003 -- When one fighting rooster in Socorro was diagnosed
with Exotic Newcastle Disease last month, the state forbid the movement of any
birds in the county.
For the past three weeks birds could not be sold in pet stores, but now things
have changed.
State health officials have relaxed the quarantine to allow birds to be sold in
pet stores and feed stores.
But the birds must be taken directly home, and they cannot be moved out of the
county.
Health officials say no new infections have been found, and they feel
comfortable with the movement of pet birds.
Pet store owner Jim Szostek says he lost about one thousand dollars during the
quarantine.
He understands the initial need for the restrictions, but he also feels they
were a little overreactive.
In addition to these restricitons that have been lifted, you will also be able
to take all kinds of birds or to the vet within Dona Ana County, and on a case
by case basis in El Paso County.
You're asked to call the Texas Animal Commission hotline to get a permit first.
You still can't move poultry type birds within El Paso county, or in and out of
the county.
State health officials hope to soon lift the quarantine completely.
Gainesville Sun, FL
http://gainesvillesun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030614/LOCAL/206140333/1007
Article published Jun 14, 2003
Area officials vigilant of monkeypox threat
As of Friday a dozen human cases of monkeypox had been confirmed in the United States, with 56 more suspect cases linked to contact with infected prairie dogs. No such infected prairie dogs have popped up in the Gainesville area, but that doesn't mean that health officials here aren't concerned about this exotic African disease and its potential to spread to animals that live right in our own back yards - or in some cases, in our homes.
The lesson here: exotic pets can bring exotic health threats.
Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control reported that Gambian giant rats imported from Africa to be sold as pets were part of a shipment of 800 animals of nine species that entered Texas in April.
The rats were sold to an Illinois distributor who also handled prairie dogs. The prairie dogs were infected with the virus by the Gambian rats, then sold to pet stores and other outlets in 15 states, including Florida.
Two Wisconsin health-care workers who had cared for patients with monkeypox are now suspected to have the disease. That would mark the first cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus in the United States.
Health officials are now pleading with owners of prairie dogs and other exotic pets not to release them into the wild, where they could spread monkeypox to rabbits, mice and squirrels. That could give the imported virus a permanent foothold in the United States.
From our pets to ourselves
Infections involving the transmission of germs from animals to people are called zoonoses. They can be quite serious, and they certainly are not limited to exotic animals.
At least 55 percent of all households in the United States have a dog or cat, and 10 to 15 percent a pet bird, an estimated 20 million families have an aquarium, and the number of rodents, reptiles and fish sharing our homes is uncountable.
A bite from the family dog, cat or pet hamster or guinea pig can lead to a bacterial infection, if not properly treated.
Reptiles - iguanas, snakes, lizards and turtles - shed salmonella in their droppings. So do birds, ducks and chicks. The bacteria can be deadly to young children whose immune systems have not developed fully, or to anyone with a weakened immune system.
Newcastle disease, caused by a virus, can be fatal to pet birds. In their human owners, it can cause mild conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye.
Human influenza virus can be readily transmitted from people to ferrets, and occasionally from ferrets back to people.
The best precaution, just as with a cold or the flu, is good hygiene and careful hand-washing, especially after handling an animal or cleaning their cage.
No monkeypox reported here
As of Friday, there is no indication of any monkeypox here, either in animals, such as prairie dogs, or their human owners, Alachua County Health Director Tom Belcuore said. Veterinarians are on the alert for any animal that might be ill.
Paul Gibbs, professor of veterinary virology at the University of Florida, said the College of Veterinary Medicine had seen prairie dogs brought into the clinics, although none recently, "so we know that they're out there" although pet stores in the area are not selling them.
"We are concerned that someone who owns one of these animals might release it into the environment," Gibbs said. "This virus is capable of infecting quite a wide variety of species, as the early outbreaks in zoos have proven."
Gibbs said state health officials have asked all vets to be on the lookout for sick prairie dogs, rodents or rabbits that are brought in for attention in the next few weeks.
Lindsey Hodges, of the Florida Department of Health, said the state has no known cases of monkeypox, and all prairie dogs linked to an Illinois distributor where the virus first began to spread are apparently healthy.
"We are very pleased at this point," Hodges said Friday. "We are monitoring them and will continue to do so until they are out of the incubation period, which is about 12 days."
Terry McElroy, spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said its hard to get a handle on all of the exotic pets in the state, and where they're located.
"So many agencies have pieces of the rules and regulations, I don't think anyone can tell you how many animals come in legally," he said. "And no one knows what gets smuggled or carried in."
Who guards the borders?
The Department of Agriculture calls the increased interest in exotic animals "revolutionary." For example, it cites a pet industry trade association report, stating that the number of reptile owners in the U.S. has grown from two million in 1990 to about 20 million today.
So far the regulations on the importation of exotic animals have been restrictive, but not iron-fisted.
"Do you really want the government coming into your home and telling you what pets you can and can't have?" asked Jim Rogers, spokesman for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Once we start down that path, it's a slippery slope."
The U.S. government does not prohibit the ownership and sale of exotic animals. The U.S. Customs Service monitors everything that comes through U.S. borders, but when wildlife enters, it is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that does the inspection. Officers check that all incoming animal shipments pose no threat to native species and that no threatened, endangered or protected animals are among them. They do not, however, test for disease.
The USDA can step in if an animal arrives from a country known to be infected with a disease that could threaten animals here. And the Food and Drug Administration can block imports that could threaten the nation's food and drug supply. Primates are checked out at the borders by the CDC, while marine species are overseen by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Yet even with the involvement of six federal agencies, it appears that animals - or a disease carried by animals like monkeypox - can still cross U.S. borders.
This, too, may pass
Guy Webster, co-owner of Earth Pets Natural Pet Market in Gainesville, thinks the current interest in prairie dogs will wane, just as the trend to own a hedgehog, a pot-bellied pig or a ferret has. He hopes the threat of monkeypox will die as well.
"Hopefully, with this outbreak, people will at least think twice before picking up an exotic," Webster added.
College students and apartment-dwellers often turn to small, caged pets for companionship, Webster said, because they cannot keep a cat or a dog. Often, their choice is an exotic - like the prairie dog.
"Unfortunately, there is a market for these things, just as there is for birds and reptiles," he said, adding, "The transmission of diseases like this is kind of scary, especially if someone who has a prairie dog decides to turn it loose."
Diane Chun can be reached at (352) 374-5041 or chund@gvillesun.com.
Crop Decisions, MO
http://www.cropdecisions.com/show_story.php?id=19938
USDA Amends Quarantine Boundaires for Poultry Disease
Jun. 13, 2003
USDA has amended the quarantine boundaries for exotic Newcastle disease by removing Dona Ana, Luna and Otero counties in N.M., Hudspeth County, Texas, and portions of El Paso County, Texas, from the list of quarantined areas.
Exotic Newcastle disease is a fatal viral disease that affects all species of birds, but poses no human health risk. This action removes restrictions on the movement of birds, poultry and certain other articles from those areas.
END was first confirmed in backyard poultry in southern California in October 2002 and in commercial poultry in December 2002. It was later identified in Nevada and Arizona in January and February 2003, respectively. In April, the disease was also diagnosed in Texas.
San Diego Union Tribune, CA
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20030613-9999_2m13chief.html
Department names fire chief
Forestry veteran assumes top post
By Irene McCormack Jackson
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 13, 2003
Fire Chief Chuck Maner has taken over California Department of Forestry
operations in San Diego County, replacing retiring Chief Ken Miller.
Miller, a 31-year veteran of the department, will spend his last day behind the
desk on June 27, CDF spokeswoman Roxanne Provaznik said.
Maner, who was promoted to the position effective June 1, has worked for the
department since 1978. He also spent five years with the United States Forest
Service in the Angeles National Forest.
He transferred to San Diego County in 1988 as a Battalion Chief and became a
Division Chief at Rainbow Camp. In 2001 he was promoted to Deputy Chief, working
closely with Miller at the unit's headquarters in Rancho San Diego.
Since 1994, Maner has served as an Incident Commander for the Major Incident
Fire Team, a multiagency organization that manages large fires throughout the
country.
He recently spent time as an incident commander in Central California for the
Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force with the state Department of Food and
Agriculture.
He has a bachelor of science degree from California State University Los Angeles
with an emphasis in management of fire services.
"He's got a lot of good fire experience," Provaznik said.
He served as incident commander for the Harmony Grove fire, which burned for
three days in October 1996, destroying nearly 100 homes and burning 8,600 acres
in parts of Elfin Forest, San Marcos, Carlsbad and Encinitas. He also served as
a top commander for the October 1993, Guejito fire east of Escondido, which
charred 20,000 acres and destroyed 18 houses.
Maner will oversee 200 permanent and 100 seasonal firefighters who staff 28
stations throughout much of the unincorporated areas of the county.
He is married, and he and his wife have four young children.
San Diego Union Tribune, CA
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20030613-9999_1mc13birds.html
Breeder seeks nests for feathered friends
Woman can't keep up with mortgage
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 13, 2003
BONSALL - Arlene Chandler has lost her home. Now she can move on to what may be
her bigger problem: what to do with 250 exotic birds.
Chandler has bred the birds, half of them endangered species, on 5 hilly acres
in Bonsall's horse country for the past 10 years. The bird-breeding business has
been terrible, however, and Chandler fell way behind on her mortgage. She had
until the close of business Wednesday to pay the bank $114,000.
Though she held out hope that someone would come to her rescue, she signed the
property over to an investment group rather than have it go to auction. In doing
so, she lost $250,000 in equity.
"I've been struggling for the past four years. The stress is more than I can
take," Chandler said this week, running nail-bitten fingers through her long,
graying hair.
Under the agreement with the investment company, Chandler has 30 days to move
out. Her birds can stay until December.
"It was a deal that was made for the birds, to give me time to sell them,"
Chandler said. "The guy was very nice. He should have given me $50,000 or
something to be fair, but he didn't give me anything."
Five years ago, Chandler had 200 baby birds to sell in one year. Last year, she
had only five. She blames the drop on the erratic weather patterns caused by El
Niño and La Niña, which affect the birds' reproductive cycles.
"I know I cannot survive off these birds," she said.
Her difficulty was compounded by restrictions imposed by the exotic Newcastle
disease quarantine, which prohibits the movement of birds from quarantined
areas, which includes most of Southern California. Chandler has been able to
ship individual birds, but only with special permits.
Chandler, 67, never had children. Her animals are her family. She has had some
of the birds for nearly half her life.
"I've had them for longer than your mother's had you," she told a visitor.
There may be no other place in the county quite like Chandler's. Earlier this
week, she stood in the driveway of her modest home overlooking the massive,
tin-roofed bird house of her business, Species Survival Aviary. Several large
Dobermans, including two rare white ones, barked at the gate in a jumble of
teeth and paws.
The aviary is down a dirt path through thigh-high hedge mustard, a yellow
wildflower. But her birds can be heard squawking long before they can be seen.
The aviary's sides are screens, and the roof is corrugated metal. From afar, it
looks like a mass of gray and silver. Up closer, bright neon greens, oranges and
reds flash from the darkness.
As Chandler unlatched the screen door, birds bobbed their heads, puffed their
feathers and the din reached a deafening crescendo.
A double yellowhead parrot squawked, "Hellooo, hellooo, hellooo!" One next door,
inching sideways on his perch, chimed in with what sounded like an old man's
laughing: "Heh-heh-heh. Pretty, pretty!" Maybe half a dozen birds repeated:
"Hellooo. Hellooo. How are youuu? Pretty! Heh-heh-heh."
Chandler stopped in front of one cage after another, bringing her face close.
"Hellooo," she said. "How are youuu?"
She's said she's not sure what she will do.
"Can you imagine losing this and trying to find a place for all these birds?"
she said. "It's just not possible."
In front of a cage holding a vasa, a dark, homely bird from Madagascar, Chandler
leaned over, shouting something barely audible above the noise. It sounded like:
"Worry? Deaf?" No, she said, "Worry about theft."
Some of her birds are worth several thousand dollars. Altogether, they are worth
$250,000, Chandler said. She has sold off birds and some dogs to support
herself, but it just hasn't been enough.
To stave off foreclosure, Chandler tried everything she could think of. She even
wrote to Paul McCartney, an animal lover. When the former Beatle didn't write
back, she wrote to McCartney's daughter Stella. No response from Stella, either.
One woman who tried to help Chandler by loaning her money said she was never
paid back. The woman, who wrote to the Union-Tribune after seeing a story about
Chandler's plight, said the bird breeder owes her more than $16,000.
Yesterday, Chandler said a deadline was never set and that she still intends to
repay the loan.
"I just haven't been able to pay her back," Chandler said.
For now, Chandler will concentrate her efforts on finding a place to live and
finding someone to buy her birds. She hopes to find an adventurous sort who
wants to start a bird-breeding business.
Chandler would sell the business for $250,000, but said she's willing to
negotiate.
CIDRAP
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/biosecurity/ag-biosec/news/jun1203end.html
Exotic Newcastle quarantine lifted in Texas, New Mexico
Jun 12, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – As expected, federal and state authorities have lifted poultry and bird quarantines in five counties in western Texas and southern New Mexico after concluding that exotic Newcastle disease (END) has been stamped out in the area.
END was limited to one backyard poultry flock in Socorro, near El Paso, Tex., said Texas State Veterinarian Bob Hillman in a Jun 6 news release. Except for that site and a small surrounding buffer zone, the quarantines were lifted Jun 5 for El Paso and Hudspeth counties in Texas and Luna, Otero, and Dona Anna counties in New Mexico.
"We are very happy to announce that END, a deadly foreign viral disease that affects only birds and poultry, has been wiped out in El Paso County," Hillman said. He had predicted in a May 28 announcement that the quarantine would be ended soon.
The END quarantines were imposed Apr 10. State and federal agriculture officials tested more than 800 flocks in the area for END and distributed disease-prevention information to dozens of feed stores, producers, flea markets, pet stores, and other places where birds and related products are sold, Hillman said.
He said Texas must maintain a quarantine around the site of the outbreak for 6 months to reopen international markets to Texas poultry and poultry products. Birds may be removed from the remaining quarantine zone only with a permit from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Texas Animal Health Commission.
The USDA said Jun 10 it would publish a notice of the quarantine lifting in the Federal Register on Jun 11. The agency said it would take comments on the action until Aug 11.
See also:
Texas Animal Health Commission with link to news release
http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/
USDA Jun 10 news release
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/news/2003/06/endtxnm_vs.html
AgWeb - USDA Amends END Quarantine Boundaries
http://www.agweb.com/news_show_news_article.asp?file=AgNewsArticle_2003610152_3412&articleid=98543&newscat=WA
USDA Amends END Quarantine Boundaries
by Julianne Johnston
June 10, 2003
USDA announced today that it has amended the quarantine boundaries for exotic
Newcastle disease by removing Dona Ana, Luna and Otero counties in N.M.,
Hudspeth County, Texas, and portions of El Paso County, Texas, from the list of
quarantined areas.
Exotic Newcastle disease is a fatal viral disease that affects all species of
birds, but poses no human health risk. This action removes restrictions on the
movement of birds, poultry and certain other articles from those areas.
END was first confirmed in backyard poultry in southern California in October
2002 and in commercial poultry in December 2002. It was later identified in
Nevada and Arizona in January and February 2003, respectively. In April, the
disease was also diagnosed in Texas.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in cooperation with the Texas
Animal Health Commission quickly eradicated the disease in the single backyard
flock in El Paso, Texas, and prevented any further spread of the disease.
END is one of the most infectious poultry diseases in the world. The virus is
spread primarily through direct contact between healthy birds and the bodily
discharges of infected birds. The disease is transmitted through infected birds'
droppings and secretions from the nose, mouth and eyes.
This interim rule is scheduled for publication in the June 11 Federal Register
and was effective June 5. APHIS documents published in the Federal Register and
related information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
Consideration will be given to comments received on or before Aug. 11. Send an
original and three copies of postal or commercial delivery comments to Docket
No. 02-117-8, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71,
4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1238. If you use e-mail, address
your comments to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comments must be contained in
the body of the message; do not send attached files. Please include your name
and address in the message and use "Docket No. 02-117-8" on the subject line.
Comments may be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and
Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to review comments are
requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the comment
reading room.
San Francisco Chronicle, CA
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/06/10/roundup.DTL
Bay Area News Roundup
Local news all the time
June 10,2003
Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors this morning approved a one-year, $384,260
survey to see if Exotic Newcastle Disease is present among poultry in the
county.
Eight people will be trained starting next week to conduct the survey initially
at properties within three kilometers of poultry processing plants and
production facilities, county Agricultural Commissioner John Westoby said.
There is no sign of the disease that was diagnosed in poultry flocks in Southern
California on Oct. 1, 2002, Westoby said. The survey will expand to areas on the
urban fringe where people raise chickens and then possibly to urban areas within
the next year, Westoby said.
The poultry industry in Sonoma County contributes $50 million a year to the
economy.
Survey takers will ask poultry owners if their poultry or other birds have been
sick or died recently. They will disinfect their shoes after each survey contact
to prevent any possible spread of the fatal, viral respiratory disease that has
led to the destruction of 3.5 million chickens in Southern California, Westoby
said.
Some European countries have quarantined California poultry products and the
exhibition of poultry has been banned at state and county fairs, swap meets,
auctions and other venues.
Arizona, Texas and Nevada have recently removed poultry quarantines in their
states and California is in the last phase of eradication of the disease, the
California Department of Food and Agriculture said.
Birds with END may have respiratory, nervous or gastrointestinal signs or may
die without showing any symptoms.
Press-Enterprise, CA
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_Poultry_Survey_108276C.shtml
Feds to fund Sonoma County chicken survey
The Associated Press
SANTA ROSA
It's not chicken feed. The federal government is sending Sonoma County $384,000
to find out if a deadly poultry disease is infecting backyard flocks.
Exotic Newcastle disease is a highly contagious ailment that affects all species
of birds. It has forced the destruction of three and a half (m) million chickens
in Southern California.
County ag officials hope the survey will show the county is free of the disease.
That will clear the way for other countries to accept egg and poultry product
exports.
(Santa Rosa Press Democrat)
Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 10:34 PDT
Press Democrat, CA
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/10survey.html
Poultry disease survey planned
Study aims to prove Sonoma County free of exotic Newcastle
June 10, 2003
By TIM TESCONI
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The federal government is funding a $384,000 survey to determine if a deadly
poultry virus is in Sonoma County's backyard flocks.
Exotic Newcastle disease, a highly contagious disease that affects all species
of birds, has already caused the destruction of more than 3.5 million chickens
in Southern California. Agricultural officials are hoping the survey will allow
Sonoma County to be declared free of the disease, clearing the way for eggs and
other poultry products to be exported to foreign markets.
"It's a way to assure our trading partners that exotic Newcastle isn't in Sonoma
County so they will lift the restrictions they've imposed," agricultural
commissioner John Westoby said Monday.
Westoby has been working for months with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
develop budget guidelines for the survey. The USDA is providing $384,000 to the
Sonoma County agricultural commissioner's office for the door-to-door survey
that will begin at the end of the month and continue for a year.
Westoby will go before county supervisors today to get approval to sign the
agreement with the USDA.
Eight people will be hired to conduct the survey, said Westoby. Teams will
contact residences and farms within a 2-mile radius of commercial poultry
operations to ask property owners or renters if they have poultry or caged
birds. They will be asked if they have had any sick or dying birds. There will
be further investigation if people report problems with their birds.
Westoby said the survey teams will not inspect property. Workers will sanitize
their shoes after every stop.
The survey is supported by Sonoma County's $50 million poultry industry, which
has been hurt financially by the bans that foreign countries have put on
California poultry products because of the disease outbreak in Southern
California.
"This has had a major, major impact on us. Mexico has quit buying eggs from us
and the Far East has shut us out," said Arnie Riebli, co-owner of Santa Rosa Egg
Farms in Petaluma.
Riebli said commercial poultry operations in Sonoma County are free of the
disease. He said the survey will determine if exotic Newcastle is in hobby
flocks or aviaries anywhere in the county.
Poultry producers like Riebli worry that exotic Newcastle is being spread by the
illegal fighting cocks that some people use for entertainment and gambling. The
fighting cocks are bred and fought throughout California, including Sonoma
County.
You can reach Staff Writer Tim Tesconi at 521-5289 or at
ttesconi@pressdemocrat.com.
Orange County Register, CA
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=43068§ion=LOCAL&subsection=LOCAL&year=2003&month=6&day=10
Newcastle task force to go to work in county
The Orange County Register
June 10, 2003
A state and federal quarantine that has prevented pet owners and pet stores from
transporting birds in and out of Orange County since early January might soon be
lifted if a task force confirms that there's no avian exotic Newcastle disease
present locally.
A team of epidemiologists and veterinarians will begin visiting homes and
businesses Wednesday, seeking to collect the 400 bird samples they need for
their study. The virus is deadly to birds; more than 3.5 million birds had to be
euthanized after the disease was found in Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego
and Los Angeles counties. Orange County was quarantined as a buffer zone against
the virus, which poses no harm to humans.
The task force will work in Orange County for five to six days. People with
questions should call (800) 491-1899.
KTRE, TX
http://www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=1312405&nav=2FH5GGHS
06/07/03 - East Texas
The Threat Of Exotic Newcastle Disease May Be A Thing Of The Past
Restrictions on a deadly foreign viral disease that affects poultry have been lifted on most El Paso County birds.
Exotic Newcastle Disease had been devastating non-commercial chicken flocks throughout the southwest since April 10th. Five Texas and New Mexico counties have been quarantined with special teams testing more than 800 flocks for the virus.
Health officials say Texas poultry farmers aren't out of the woods yet. They plan to maintain a small quarantine area in the Socorro area for 6 months to regain international trading status for poultry and poultry products.
Union-Tribune, CA
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20030607-9999_1mi7survey.html
Newcastle teams to hold door-to-door surveys
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 7, 2003
Members of a state and federal task force will conduct door-to-door surveys
around the county next week, looking for birds and asking owners for permission
to test them for exotic Newcastle disease, a fatal avian virus.
The spread of the disease is on the wane, and officials say the surveying is a
first step in a months-long process of lifting the quarantine that covers
Southern California. The quarantine prohibits the movement of birds and bird
parts, but not eggs, from quarantined areas.
Epidemiologists and veterinarians with the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force
will devote special attention to areas near the border, because the virus has
been traced to birds smuggled into the country in the past.
Larry Cooper, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture,
said the surveyors will ask residents if they have any birds, and if so, will
they give the surveyors permission to test them. No one is required to have a
bird tested.
Similar surveys are being done in other quarantined counties.
The last time the task force reported a case of exotic Newcastle in the county
was two months ago.
"We're transitioning now to a phase where instead of . . . trying to find the
disease, we're surveying to make sure the disease is no longer there," Cooper
said.
To eradicate the outbreak, first discovered in chickens in Los Angeles County
last October, the task force ordered 3.5 million birds destroyed, mostly in
commercial chicken flocks.
The last time exotic Newcastle infected the commercial poultry industry was in
the early 1970s. During that outbreak, 12 million birds were destroyed and it
took three years to eradicate the disease.
North County Times, CA
http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030607/63119.html
Task force to survey backyard birds next week
KATHRYN GILLICK
Staff Writer
June 7, 2003
The task force on Exotic Newcastle disease will begin a survey of backyard birds
in San Diego County next week, a spokesman said Friday.
According to Larry Cooper, a group of 16 task force employees -- mostly
epidemiologists and diagnosticians -- will, starting Wednesday, go door to door
in areas where the task force thinks there are backyard birds. He said the group
hopes to test about 400 birds in the county.
If all the birds are disease-free, the task force will consider lifting, at
least partially, the federal quarantine that was placed on the county in
January.
The survey will take between five and six days, and will start in North County,
Cooper said.
Cooper said that the task force is doing similar surveys in each of the
counties -- Imperial, Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara,
San Bernardino and part of Kern -- that have been placed under quarantine.
The surveys in Imperial and Santa Barbara counties have already been completed,
he said, and no signs of the disease were found there. He said a team started
surveying Ventura County on Thursday.
Cooper said that once all the counties have been surveyed, "we'll determine
which areas we can lift the quarantine from."
"This is the first step toward (lifting the quarantine)," he said.
He said that crews will not survey commercial farms. Those, he said, will be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
The task force has killed nearly 3.5 million birds and spent $160 million
fighting the disease since it was discovered in October.
Austin American Statesman, TX
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/auto/epaper/editions/today/metro_state_e31e0956a18881f60065.html
West Texas quarantine on poultry, birds lifted
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, June 7, 2003
EL PASO -- All state and federal restrictions related to Exotic Newcastle
Disease have been lifted for birds and poultry in El Paso County except for a
small area in Socorro, southeast of El Paso, where the disease was first
detected.
Exotic Newcastle Disease, "a deadly foreign viral disease that affects only
birds and poultry, has been wiped out in El Paso County," said Bob Hillman,
state veterinarian and head of the Texas Animal Health Commission. "This disease
does not affect human health or the safety of food, but it can devastate bird
and poultry operations."
State and federal quarantines, and restrictions on movement, were lifted
Thursday for El Paso and Hudspeth counties in Texas and Luna, Otero and Dona Ana
counties in New Mexico.
Exotic Newcastle is fatal in poultry. Signs of the disease include sneezing,
coughing, gasping, drooping wings, muscular tremors, paralysis and sudden death.
Humans cannot contract the disease. In rare cases, humans have developed
conjunctivitis when exposed to high levels of the disease.
The quarantine had been in effect since April 10.
Hillman said the disease "did not spread beyond one backyard flock of birds."
"To be certain, however, the teams tested more than 800 flocks within the
five-county area and distributed disease prevention information to dozens of
feed stores, producers, flea markets, pet stores and other retail and wholesale
outlets where birds and bird-related products are sold," he said.
He said Socorro must remain quarantined for six months to regain international
trading status for poultry and poultry products. Birds may be moved from that
area only with a federal or state permit.
News 8 Austin, TX
http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=73838&SecID=2
Quarantine lifted on most poultry in El Paso
6/6/2003 9:27 PM
By: Associated Press
EL PASO -- Restrictions on most El Paso County birds and poultry have been
lifted related to the Exotic Newcastle Disease.
But Texas must maintain a small quarantine area in Socorro for six months to
regain international trading status for poultry and poultry products.
Five Texas and New Mexico counties were quarantined since April 10.
1
Special teams tested more than 800 flocks within the five-county area and
distributed disease prevention information to retail establishments.
State and federal quarantines and restrictions on movement were lifted Thursday
for El Paso and Hudspeth counties, and for Luna, Otero, and Dona Ana counties in
New Mexico.
Exotic Newcastle Disease is a deadly foreign viral disease that affects only
birds and poultry.
The disease generally doesn't affect humans.
KNBC-TV, CA
http://www.nbc4.tv/health/2255021/detail.html
Task Force Makes Final Sweep For Exotic Newcastle Disease
Groups Goal Is To Lift Bird Quarantine
POSTED: 2:30 p.m. PDT June 6, 2003
UPDATED: 2:31 p.m. PDT June 6, 2003
VENTURA, Calif. -- Members of the exotic Newcastle disease task force are making
one last sweep through Ventura County with the goal of lifting the quarantine on
birds.
Teams of 16 to 26 people will begin door-to-door surveys in targeted
neighborhoods this week, starting at the north end of the county and working
south in and around the communities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Fillmore, Ojai and
Santa Paula, officials said.
Neighborhoods are being targeted because previous surveys indicate birds are
likely to be present. Simi Valley will not be surveyed, officials said, because
extensive testing of birds in the area has been ongoing since a Newcastle
outbreak was discovered among a backyard flock in March.
Residents who do not voluntarily cooperate to let their birds be tested may be
served by an inspection warrant.
"It's winding down everywhere. We would really like to be able to remove the
quarantine from Ventura County," said Larry Cooper, spokesman for the joint task
force of the state Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
No commercial incidents of the virus have been discovered in California since
March and outbreaks among backyard flocks have dropped dramatically. Cooper said
no infestations were ever found in Northern California, and if no other
outbreaks of the disease are found, quarantines might be lifted within the next
six months.
The disease, which isn't a threat to humans, kills poultry and other birds after
an incubation period of only a few days. The epidemic has resulted in the deaths
of nearly 3.5 million birds statewide since September.
Three homes in Simi Valley were quarantined on March 31 and April 1 after an
outbreak of the disease was discovered among a backyard flock. At least 260
birds were exterminated to stop the spread of the disease.
San Jose Mercury News, CA
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6031442.htm
Posted on Fri, Jun. 06, 2003
VENTURA, Calif. (AP) - Members of the exotic Newcastle disease task force are making one last sweep through Ventura County with the goal of lifting the quarantine on birds.
Teams of 16 to 26 people will begin door-to-door surveys in targeted neighborhoods this week, starting at the north end of the county and working south in and around the communities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Fillmore, Ojai and Santa Paula, officials said.
Neighborhoods are being targeted because previous surveys indicate birds are likely to be present. Simi Valley will not be surveyed, officials said, because extensive testing of birds in the area has been ongoing since a Newcastle outbreak was discovered among a backyard flock in March.
Residents who do not voluntarily cooperate to let their birds be tested may be served by an inspection warrant.
"It's winding down everywhere. We would really like to be able to remove the quarantine from Ventura County," said Larry Cooper, spokesman for the joint task force of the state Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
No commercial incidents of the virus have been discovered in California since March and outbreaks among backyard flocks have dropped dramatically. Cooper said no infestations were ever found in Northern California, and if no other outbreaks of the disease are found, quarantines might be lifted within the next six months.
The disease, which isn't a threat to humans, kills poultry and other birds after an incubation period of only a few days. The epidemic has resulted in the deaths of nearly 3.5 million birds statewide since September.
Three homes in Simi Valley were quarantined on March 31 and April 1 after an outbreak of the disease was discovered among a backyard flock. At least 260 birds were exterminated to stop the spread of the disease.
KOB-TV, NM
http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=1934&cat=4HEALTH
Agriculture Dept. lifts quarantine on most El Paso poultry
Last Update: 06/06/2003 2:17:17 PM
By: Kurt Christopher
(El Paso, Texas-AP) -- All state and federal restrictions related to Exotic Newcastle Disease have been lifted on birds and poultry in El Paso County, Texas.
They remained in effect only in a small area in Socorro, Texas southeast of El Paso, where the disease was first detected.
Exotic Newcastle Disease is a deadly viral disease limited to birds and poultry.
But Texas state veterinarian Bob Hillman says it has now been wiped out in El Paso County.
State and federal quarantines, and restrictions on movement, were lifted on Thursday for El Paso and Hudspeth counties, and on Luna, Otero, and Dona Ana counties in New Mexico.
Exotic newcastle is fatal in poultry. Symptoms include sneezing, coughing, gasping for air, drooping wings, muscular tremors, paralysis.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat, CA
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/06emu_a1.html
Emu barbecue halted at county animal shelter
Bird still ends up on home menu after adoption squelched by poultry quarantine
June 6, 2003
By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Vineyards border the enclosed pasture where Michele Mussen imagined an emu
grazing, rescued from the Sonoma County Animal Shelter.
Before she finalized plans to transport the stray bird, Mussen learned that
someone else was about to take it home.
The details came later from an anonymous caller: The emu had been given to a
shelter worker who shot it, dressed it and was about to serve it up at a staff
barbecue.
"The whole thing is disgusting," Mussen said. "That was a domesticated emu. It
could have been part of a petting zoo, and instead it was eaten."
Barry Evans, who oversees the animal shelter, said the barbecue was about to get
under way when he learned the emu was on the menu.
He said he immediately went outside and told staffers the emu wasn't to be
served. Follow-up inquiry indicated the bird was neither barbecued nor eaten on
shelter premises, although it did end up on someone's plate, he said.
Evans said he since has instituted a policy requiring his approval of all staff
adoptions.
He said staff members also are under instructions to ask more pointed questions
of anyone adopting animals that could be used as meat.
"I looked at this really closely, and I discussed it thoroughly with all my
staff, and the issue is we don't want to give the image of, 'Hey, your animal
comes to the shelter, somebody may eat it.' That's not the idea at all," he
said.
Although they're chagrined by the public relations problem created by the emu's
tale, shelter officials say they cannot mandate that livestock, other than
horses, not be used as food. Emus, non-flying birds that are native to
Australia, are available in the United States precisely because of their lean
red meat.
As with other livestock, including rabbits and guinea pigs, Evans said the
shelter staff hasn't typically "made a big deal out of asking them (adoptive
owners) exactly what they're doing with it."
In a concession to advocates concerned about rabbits, the shelter raised the
adoption fee from $5 to $10 earlier this year, hoping to dissuade anyone
considering them for food.
Shelter officials are unapologetic about the situation with Mussen and the emu.
The bird arrived Feb. 21 at the shelter, and Mussen said she expressed interest
in it soon afterward. It became eligible for adoption after two weeks.
Mussen said she was waiting to hear whether the shelter might deliver the bird
to her business, Countryside Kennel, but shelter personnel said they thought she
had lost interest because she never called to say she was coming to get it.
Interim shelter supervisor Cathy Fenn said the emu couldn't be delivered because
of the unpredictability of the sometimes dangerous birds and the muddy hillside
shelter workers would have had to traverse to deliver it.
Meanwhile, the emu remained eligible for adoption by someone else. Persistent
rain made it increasingly inhumane to keep it in its outdoor pen at the shelter,
she said.
"We gave them ample time to come get it," Fenn said.
Mussen, detailing a half-dozen exchanges and phone calls, including an
inspection of her grounds by shelter personnel, said her continuing interest was
clear. She said she was ready to rent a trailer when she learned the emu was
going to someone else.
Evans said the bird's fate was sealed when state officials announced a
quarantine on all poultry susceptible to Exotic Newcastle Disease. Evans said
the shelter staff decided that birds covered by the quarantine, including the
emu, would no longer be eligible for adoption and would be put down.
That was March 17 -- nearly a month before the emu was turned over to the
unidentified shelter worker.
On April 14, he said, the emu was released to a staff member who shot it at the
shelter.
Three days later, employees were gathering outside the shelter to enjoy
barbecued salmon caught by a colleague when Evans heard that the emu was to be
served as well.
After questions were raised about other animals taken by shelter workers, Evans
said he reviewed records back to 1999 and learned that two pigs were adopted
last year and apparently butchered.
He said shelter records disprove reports from animal welfare advocates that
several wild turkeys had gone directly to shelter personnel in 2000. But Evans
said he understands others may have picked up the turkeys on behalf of shelter
workers.
While some may disapprove, he said, no law or regulation was broken.
The same, he said, is true in the emu's case -- a point acknowledged by Don
Malone, director of operations for the Humane Society of Sonoma County, which
looked into the matter.
That said, Malone added: "I'm glad I work for an agency that realizes it's not a
cool thing to eat animals that you shelter."
You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or
mcallahan@pressdemocrat.com.
San Bernardino Sun, CA
http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~1437986,00.html
Birds won't be flocking to the Chino Hills Pet Fair
By BLANCA E. SANCHEZ, Staff Writer
CHINO HILLS - Bird lovers who might have made plans to take their favorite pet
to the first-ever Chino Hills Pet Fair on Saturday will have to leave their
feathery friends at home.
Birds of any kind will not be admitted to the fair to make sure exotic Newcastle
disease is not spread, city officials announced Wednesday.
"The pet fair is all about people who love their pets and love animals, and we
didn't want to not make the effort to inform the people about the disease and
that it's safest not to bring your bird,' said Valerie McClung, spokeswoman for
Chino Hills.
The disease was found in Chino at a commercial facility about three months ago.
It has also been found in backyard flocks in Fontana and San Bernardino.
Eight counties are quarantined and cannot have live bird displays or transport
birds out of quarantined areas, a city report stated.
The fair initially included birds among other animals. But city officials
decided it would be safest to ban birds from the fair after several exotic
Newcastle disease Task Force representatives provided the city with information
about the disease.
EXOTIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE
Symptoms include: sneezing, nasal discharge, greenish watery diarrhea, twisting
of the head and neck dropping wings.
Although the disease has not been found in Chino Hills, it is a dangerous
disease to birds and it is necessary to take precautions, said Larry Cooper,
spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force.
"There can't be any public displays of birds in any kind of a grouping,' Cooper
said. "You don't know where those birds have been. You don't know where those
people have been. Those birds could be infected. If we were not to do this and
this virus spreads throughout the state, there wouldn't be any birds left.'
The quarantined counties are San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles,
Ventura, Santa Barbara, Imperial and San Diego, Cooper said.
Almost all public displays statewide have been affected and all county fairs
have eliminated birds or replaced them with educational displays, he said.
The spread of the virus has decreased and infections have been absent in the
past month, Cooper said.
The Task Force is working to make sure there is no virus left. For this reason,
several residents in Chino Hills have received visits from the task force asking
them if they have seen a sick bird or may have one.
Councilman Bill Kruger said he got a visit from the Task Force a couple of weeks
ago. They gave him information about the disease.
"They were going door to door,' said Kruger, who doesn't own any birds. "I'm
glad they made us aware of it. I'd rather be proactive about it.'
The virus does spread quickly and easily. Bird owners are asked to keep their
birds at home and check them for signs of illness. If a bird owner comes in
contact with exotic Newcastle disease, the virus can be carried on clothing and
shoes.
Ventura County Star, CA
http://www.insidevc.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_2016338,00.html
Task force to make final sweep of county for Newcastle disease
By Roberta Freeman, rfreeman@insidevc.com
June 6, 2003
With a goal of lifting the quarantine on birds in Ventura County, members of the
exotic Newcastle disease task force will be going door to door through targeted
neighborhoods for one last test to make sure the disease is gone.
Officials reported Thursday that teams of 16 to 26 people will begin surveying
households this week, beginning at the north end of the county and working south
in and around the communities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Fillmore, Ojai and Santa
Paula.
Officials said neighborhoods are being targeted because previous surveys
indicate birds are likely to be present. Simi Valley will not be surveyed,
officials said, because extensive testing of birds in the area has been ongoing
since an outbreak of the disease was discovered among a backyard flock in March.
"It's winding down everywhere. We would really like to be able to remove the
quarantine from Ventura County," said Larry Cooper, spokesman for the joint task
force of the state Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
Task force officials reported that throughout the state, no commercial incidents
of the virus have been discovered since March and outbreaks among backyard
flocks have gone down dramatically. Cooper said no infestations were ever found
in Northern California, and if no other outbreaks of the disease are found,
quarantines might be lifted within the next six months.
While not a threat to human health, the disease kills poultry and other birds
after an incubation period of only a few days. The epidemic has resulted in the
deaths of nearly 3.5 million birds statewide since September. Three homes in
Simi Valley were quarantined on March 31 and April 1 after an outbreak of the
disease was discovered among a backyard flock on Adam Road. A total of 260
assorted chickens, waterfowl, doves and pet birds were killed to stop further
spread of the disease, and surrounding residents were quarantined, preventing
birds from being transported on or off property.
The highly contagious virus is spread by general traffic in and around homes and
neighborhoods -- on the feet, clothes and nasal passages of humans, on tires, in
pet stores and by other vermin and pets. Poultry exhibits are prohibited at
state fairs this year to eliminate any further risk of contamination.
Cooper said members of the task force will divide themselves into two teams led
by veterinarians -- one team will survey households asking if birds are on the
property, and the second team will test the birds. Residents who do not
voluntarily cooperate to let their birds be tested may be served by an
inspection warrant.
Geoffry Liggett of Simi experienced the task force's display of legal muscle
when it issued a warrant to enter his property in May. Liggett had refused to
let the task force on his property because of concerns about who would be
testing his birds and their qualifications. Still angry about what he called
"Gestapo tactics" of the task force, Liggett was cautiously optimistic that the
quarantine might soon be lifted.
"My main concern is that the virus is eradicated," Liggett said.
Union Democrat, CA
http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=10975
Historic Sonora feed store closes its doors
Published: June 5, 2003
By ERIN MAYES
After more than 100 years of selling feed and livestock supplies, the former
Hales and Symons feed store on South Washington Street has closed.
Modesto-based J.S. West purchased the store five years ago. President Jim West
said it just wasn't making enough money to stay open.
"We could never get the volume of business through there that we were able to
make a profit," West said. "We rely on selling feed to poultry and livestock
people, as well as pet food, and the volume of animals in the Tuolumne County
area just wasn't enough to make it work."
West said exotic Newcastle disease, which affects poultry, also put a dent in
the business. The state required stores to remove live poultry and to accept
only day-old chicks, among other strict requirements.
"Combined with those situations, we just weren't able to keep it open," he said.
But, West stressed, the hardware, lumber and propane stores are all doing well.
The hardware and lumber stores are at 730 S. Washington St., next door to the
closed feed store, and the propane store is at 564 W. Stockton Road.
Irving Symons, who sold the business to J.S. West in January, 1998, said he was
aware that the store had closed and that he is "disappointed, in a way,"
although the fact that the remaining stores are still open makes it less of a
concern.
West said a letter was sent to Symons to alert him of the closure, but Symons
said he has yet to receive it.
Symons' grandfather came to Tuolumne County from Cornwall, England, to mine for
gold and eventually became superintendent at the Confidence Mine.
His son, Thomas - Irving Symons' father - was born in 1872.
Thomas Symons worked as a hoist operator at a mine, saving money to start a feed
business. He rented a barn at the corner of Bradford Street and Stockton Road,
and served teamsters hauling freight from Oakdale to the Tuolumne County mines.
San Bernardino Sun, CA
http://u.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,216~24290~1435073,00.html
A new home for Valley Fair
June 5, 2003
By Barbara De Witt
Staff Writer
For nearly 60 years, Valley residents have driven to Devonshire Downs for its
small-but-fun fair. But as the community grew, so did the fair.
This year, the fair is moving up the highway to Castaic Lake State Park. Sure,
it's a longer drive for most of us, since it's about five minutes north of Six
Flags California in Valencia, but you'll find more rides, more music and more
things to do and see, from pig racing to bungee jumping to traditional livestock
exhibits and auctions.
However, due to the Exotic Newcastle Disease -- a highly contagious disease
among birds -- there will be no bird exhibits or shows this year, spokesman Bob
Carlson said.
Highlights of the state-sanctioned fair will be carnival rides, midway games and
tents filled with home and garden exhibits. The event will also feature arts and
craft activities as well as a petting zoo, pony rides, clowns, strolling
musicians and magicians. Live entertainment on stage will include the Doo-Wah
Riders, the Alley Cats, Wild West Express, Trinidad Steel Drum Band and Kool
Kats Kids shows.
Hungry? You'll find an international food court and beer gardens as well as
vendors selling traditional fair faves such as popcorn, cotton candy and snow
cones.
The fair takes place on grass and asphalt, so wear sturdy walking shoes that you
don't mind getting dirty. Bring sunscreen, as well as a sweat shirt or jacket
for the evening. Mosquito repellent may be helpful too, since it's next to
Castaic Lake.
THE VALLEY FAIR: Castaic Lake State Park, located in Valencia off Interstate 5,
exit Parker Road and follow signs. Parking is free. 4 to 11 p.m. today and
Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $6 for ages 12 and older; $4 for
senior citizens and children 6 to 11; free for children under 5 and military
with ID. Food, rides and souvenirs priced separately. Carnival wristbands for
unlimited rides are $15. Handicapped accessible; no pets or alcohol. Call (818)
557-1600 or see www.sfvalleyfair.org.
Also taking place this weekend:
VICTORIAN FAIR: Step back to the time when ladies carried parasols, children
played croquet and men threw horseshoes as a pastime. Stop for tea and scones,
learn how to make wrought-iron furniture, and learn all about the Victorian era
at the Homestead Museum, 15415 E. Don Julian Road, City of Industry. 1 to 5 p.m.
Sunday. Parking and admission free; food and souvenirs priced separately.
Handicapped accessible; no pets or alcohol. To get there from the San Fernando
Valley take the 101 east to the 134, then 210 east, 605 south, 60 east and exit
on Hacienda Boulevard. Go north for one mile and turn left on Don Julian Road.
Call (626) 968-8492.
MONTROSE ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL: Visit 300 booths featuring fine arts, crafts
and food at this annual event. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday. Admission and parking free; food and art priced separately. Handicapped
accessible; no pets or alcohol. Take 210 freeway to Ocean View; the 2 freeway to
Verdugo Boulevard and Honolulu Street. Call (818) 249-7171.
SEASIDE GEMBOREE: The first family earth science fair sponsored by the San
Fernando Valley's Del Air Rockhounds Club. You'll find a hall of dinosaurs,
space rocks, 70-pound specimens and be able to sift for micro-fossils and pan
for gold. You can also shop for crystals and beads. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday;
10 a.m to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. $5 admission; children under 12 are free; food and
souvenirs priced separately. Seaside Park at Ventura fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor
Blvd., Ventura. Handicapped accessible; no pets or alcohol. Call (818) 883-7851.
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA
http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~24398~1435861,00.html
City bans birds from Chino Hills Pet Fair to keep disease at bay
June 5, 2003
By BLANCA E. SANCHEZ, STAFF WRITER
CHINO HILLS - Bird lovers who might have made plans to take their favorite pet
to the first-ever Chino Hills Pet Fair on Saturday will have to leave their
feathery friends at home.
Birds of any kind will not be admitted to the fair to make sure the Exotic
Newcastle Disease is not spread, city officials announced Wednesday.
"The pet fair is all about people who love their pets and love animals, and we
didn't want to not make the effort to inform the people about the disease and
that it's safest not to bring your bird," said Valerie McClung, spokeswoman for
the city of Chino Hills.
The deadly disease has attacked most species of birds, especially chickens. It
was found in the city of Chino at a commercial facility about three months ago.
Eight counties are in quarantine and cannot have displays of group of birds or
transport birds out of quarantined areas, a city report stated.
The fair initially included birds among other caged animals, dogs and cats. But
city officials decided it would be safest to ban birds from the fair after
several Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force representatives provided the city
with information about the disease.
Although the disease has not been found in Chino Hills, it is a dangerous
disease to birds and it is necessary to take precautions, said Larry Cooper,
spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force.
"There can't be any public displays of birds in any kind of a grouping," Cooper
said. "You don't know where those birds have been. You don't know where those
people have been. Those birds could be infected. If we were not to do this and
this virus spreads throughout the state, there wouldn't be any birds left."
The counties in quarantine are San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles,
Ventura, Santa Barbara, Imperial and San Diego, Cooper said.
Almost all public displays statewide have been affected and all county fairs
have eliminated birds or replaced them with educational displays, he said.
But the spread of the virus has decreased and infections have been absent in the
past month, Cooper said.
The Task Force is working to make sure there is no virus left. For this reason,
several residents in Chino Hills have received visits from the task force asking
them if they have seen a sick bird or may have one.
Councilman Bill Kruger said he got a visit from the Task Force a couple of weeks
ago. They gave him information about the disease.
"They were going door to door," said Kruger who doesn't own any birds. "I'm glad
they made us aware of it. I'd rather be proactive about it."
The virus does spread quickly and easily. Bird owners are asked to keep their
birds at home and check them for signs of illness. If a bird owner comes in
contact with the virus, it can be carried on clothing and shoes.
CIDRAP News
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/biosecurity/ag-biosec/news/june0403end.html
Exotic Newcastle disease contained in Texas, New Mexico
June 4, 2003 (CIDRAP News) - A quarantine on poultry and pet birds in the El
Paso, Tex., area is expected to be lifted in the wake of a recent finding that
exotic Newcastle disease (END) did not spread beyond the backyard flock where it
turned up in April, according to Texas and New Mexico officials.
The quarantine was imposed on five counties in Texas and neighboring New Mexico
Apr 10 after the disease was discovered in a flock in El Paso.
"After testing more than 800 backyard flocks in El Paso and surrounding
counties, regulatory veterinarians say they have sufficient scientific evidence
that there is no additional END infection in the area," the Texas Animal Health
Commission and New Mexico Livestock Board stated in a news release May 28.
Texas officials have asked the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to lift the
quarantine of poultry and pet birds in the area, said Texas State Veterinarian
Dr. Bob Hillman. He expressed a hope that the ban will be ended within a few
days. Poultry and pet birds now may be moved within the affected counties, but
they may not be moved out of the counties until the federal quarantine is
lifted, Hillman said. The counties include El Paso and Hudspeth in Texas and
Dona Anna, Luna, and Otero in New Mexico.
Hillman said a small area around the site of the original END outbreak in El
Paso County will remain under quarantine until mid-October to ensure that the
virus is eliminated and to meet requirements related to international trade.
Elsewhere, restrictions aimed at END in Arizona and Nevada have been eased in
recent weeks, but seven counties remain under quarantine in southern California,
where a major END outbreak has prompted the destruction of nearly 3.5 million
birds since last October.
USDA announced the reduction of quarantine areas in Nevada and Arizona in
mid-May. In Nevada, Clark County and southern Nye County were quarantined Jan 17
after END was detected in some backyard poultry in Las Vegas. The restriction
was removed in Nye County and part of Clark County as of May 14, according to a
May 19 Federal Register notice. Authorities found 10 infected premises, all in
Clark County, in surveillance across the state. The area still under quarantine
is immediately around the outbreak site in Las Vegas, according to state
agriculture officials.
In Arizona, the discovery of END in backyard poultry prompted a quarantine in La
Paz and Yuma counties and part of Mohave County in early February.
Investigations throughout Arizona turned up no additional END cases outside the
original site, the USDA said. The agency lifted the quarantine for Mohave and
Yuma counties and part of La Paz County as of May 14, according to the Federal
Register notice.
In California, poultry and pet birds are still under quarantine in Los Angeles,
Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties and part of
Kern County. The Kern County area was added after END was found in backyard
poultry there in early May, according to the USDA.
Birds on 2,418 premises, including 22 commercial poultry farms, have been
destroyed in the California containment effort, according to the latest END
update from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Authorities have
released 2,596 premises from quarantine, but 17,638 premises remain quarantined.
Some 3.49 million birds have been destroyed, up from 3.45 million in early
April.
See also:
News release from Texas Animal Health Commission and New Mexico Livestock Board
http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/news/pr/2003/2003May_END_cleared.pdf
May 19 Federal Register notice about END quarantines
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/ah/END_TEST/pdfs/02-117-6FedRegister.pdf
Nevada announcement on reduction of quarantine zone
http://agri.state.nv.us/END/END-PR-51403.pdf
California END update
North County Times, CA
http://www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030604/61921.html
Newcastle outbreak may be at an end
June 4, 2003
KATHRYN GILLICK
Staff Writer
The task force on Exotic Newcastle disease said that it expects to consolidate
most of its Southern California operations into one office by the end of this
month and to close its Modesto office even sooner.
This is yet another sign that the outbreak may be coming to a close, spokesman
Larry Cooper said Tuesday.
"As the project progresses as we find fewer and fewer infections," he said,
"then we will adapt what we do. If it's more effective to operate it out of
here ---- more cost-effective and more management-effective ---- then that's
what we do as we go."
Most of the workers at the task force's office in Colton will be moving to the
agency's Garden Grove office. The only operations that will be left in the
Colton office will be commercial planning and permitting, which oversee the
cleaning and disinfecting of commercial farms found to have the deadly disease.
Cooper said he did not know how many people will be left in the Colton office,
although he said that there are between 50 and 60 people in the permitting
section.
He said that in Modesto, the office will be closed completely. It is unclear
whether the 35 employees there will be transferred to the Colton office or
rotated out of the task force. The task force is made up of employees from
several state and federal agencies who are brought in to California from all
across the nation for six weeks at a time.
The Modesto office was opened in early March to monitor whether the disease
crossed over into the Central Valley. The task force conducted door-to-door
surveys in the area.
Cooper said that office will be closed because none of the birds in that area
tested positive. The office is projected to be closed June 15, he said.
According to a task force update released Monday, there are 924 people assigned
to fighting the disease.
Cooper said he did not have figures on how much money will be saved by
consolidating the offices.
"The costs simply drop off the cost of the program," he said. So far, the task
force, which is a joint effort by the California Department of Food and
Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has spent $160 million.
Of that, $20 million has been given to the owners of birds killed by the task
force.
The task force kills all birds at a site where the disease is found. So far, it
has killed nearly 3.5 million birds since the disease was discovered in a flock
of backyard chickens in Compton in October. Approximately 500,000 of them have
been killed in San Diego County.
It has been at least 20 days since a backyard flock of birds has tested positive
in the county.
The last of seven commercial farms to be hit with the disease locally was Ward
Egg Ranch on Fruitvale Road in Valley Center, which tested positive in late
March.
The other commercial ranches to get the disease are Ramona Egg Enterprises; the
Armstrong Egg Ranches on Cole Grade, Lilac and Mac Tan roads in Valley Center;
Foster Egg Ranch on Cole Grade Road in Valley Center; and Fluegge Egg Ranch on
Twain Way in Valley Center.
According to the task force, Ramona Egg Enterprises and Fluegge Egg Ranch are no
longer infected.
In all of the six counties where the disease was found ---- San Diego,
Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura and Kern ---- a total of 22
commercial ranches were found to be infected. The task force is still in the
process of disinfecting 16 of the farms.
San Antonio Express, TX
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=110&xlc=1006530
Business Briefs
Officials contain poultry disease
State animal health officials feel less tense about the outbreak of a
destructive bird disease in El Paso.
Texas Animal Health Commission reported that Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has
caused millions of dollars in destruction to the California poultry industry,
doesn't appear to have spread beyond the backyard flock where it was discovered
in April.
TAHC and federal officials established a five-county quarantine and ordered a
stop to all bird movement within El Paso County. They've lifted the latter
restriction and hope the five-county quarantine can be canceled soon.
Residents with questions about sick birds can call the TAHC's hotline at (800)
550-8242, or USDA veterinary services at (512) 916-5552.
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~1433643,00.html
Participants balk at new site
By James Nash
Staff Writer
CASTAIC -- For the first time in more than 50 years, the Valley Fair won't be in
the San Fernando Valley when it begins Thursday.
The fair's move to northern Los Angeles County has angered some longtime fair
participants, who predict that livestock displays, already declining because of
the loss of agriculture in the Valley, will be even scarcer in the fair's new
digs at Castaic Lake State Park.
"How long are they going to keep jerking us from spot to spot?" asked Marcia
Thompson, organizer of the Country Bumpkins 4-H Club in Sylmar. "I'm going to be
getting out of this in a year because it's gotten to be too much of a hassle."
Fair organizers say they expect about 25,000 visitors over the four-day event --
roughly the same number who attended last year's fair at Hansen Dam in the
Northeast Valley. The fair will have the same variety of entertainment,
including rockabilly bands and pig races, that fairgoers have come to expect.
"We don't put on a hasty fair; that's not fair in the first place," said David
Honda, president of the Valley Fair Board of Directors. "It's still
professionally managed by the Antelope Valley (Fair) managers."
But representatives of the groups that contribute arts and crafts, animals and
other entries to the annual fair say they won't be participating as much this
year because of the move 25 miles up Interstate 5.
"It's harder for them to get their animals farther away," said Marilyn Nefas,
who heads the Eastside Kids 4-H Club in Shadow Hills. "With my kids, I know it's
going to be harder because Thursday and Friday they're in school, and the rabbit
showmanship is at 4 p.m."
In March, the fair board voted to hold the four-day event in Castaic because of
problems negotiating parking and other issues with the city of Los Angeles,
which runs the Hansen Dam site. The next month, state Sen. Richard Alarcon,
D-Van Nuys, denounced the board over its decision and threatened to have Gov.
Gray Davis replace board members with appointees who would push to return the
fair to the Valley.
Davis appointed five new members to the nine-member board last week, after
planning for the fair was nearly complete.
Bob Carlson, marketing manager for the fair, said the event will feature
exhibits, carnival rides, bands, a hypnotist and a medicine man. Its location
right off the Golden State Freeway and the ample parking at Castaic Lake will
make the fair convenient for most people in the Valley, Carlson said.
"This particular site is a lot friendlier when it comes to the end-user," he
said.
Livestock displays, a staple of past fairs, will be diminished this year because
of the distance to Castaic and the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease, a
contagious condition that forced the cancellation of the poultry show.
Shadow Hills 4-H Club leader Paul Hall said none of his 52 members will display
animals at the Valley Fair this week and fewer will display gardening, table
setting and crafts. Representatives of some other 4-H clubs said they'll show
fewer animals as well.
Honda said the fair district boundaries extend as far north as Gorman and that
moving the fair opens it to different groups of people. Still, he said, the
reconstituted fair board may decide to return the fair to the Valley next year.
Meanwhile, Alarcon's deputies are negotiating with organizers of the July Fourth
festival at Hansen Dam to allow children to show livestock there for the first
time. Alarcon spokesman Luis Patino said he hopes the fair board will sanction
the event so that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension
recognizes the winners of livestock competitions.
But Hall, of the Shadow Hills 4-H, said even that solution is imperfect.
"When you raise your animals, you have to raise them for a specific date," he
said. "This is a month away. ... The pigs are going to be too big."
James Nash, (818) 713-3722 james.nash@dailynews.com
IF YOU GO
The Valley Fair is from 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday and noon to 11 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday at Castaic Lake State Park, off the Parker Road exit of the
Golden State Freeway. Admission Thursday is $1 for adults, and free for seniors
and children 6-11. From Friday through Sunday, tickets are $6 for adults, and $4
for seniors and children. Active-duty military personnel and children under 5
are free. For information, call (818) 557-1600 or visit the Web site
www.sfvalleyfair.org.
High Plains Journal, KS
http://www.hpj.com/testnewstable.cfm?type=story&sid=8985
June 3, 2003
Texas Bird Restrictions Near End
Texas and U.S. animal health authorities are one step closer to lifting
restrictions on birds in El Paso County, following an outbreak of exotic
Newcastle disease in backyard birds in El Paso in early April, according to a
news release from the Texas Animal Health Commission, OsterDowJones reported.
After testing more than 800 backyard flocks in El Paso and surrounding counties,
regulatory veterinarians say they have sufficient evidence that there is no
additional END infection in the area.
Exotic Newcastle disease can be spread among all bird species, causing death
losses of up to 100%. END is a foreign animal disease and results in
international trade restrictions.
"Birds and poultry may be moved freely again within El Paso County. There is no
need to obtain a permit to move birds within the county," said Dr. Bob Hillman,
Texas state veterinarian and executive director for the Texas Animal Health
Commission, the state's livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.
On April 10, a five-county quarantine are was established to contain the
disease. The TAHC stopped all bird movement within El Paso County on April 15.
On May 8, the movement restrictions within El Paso County were lifted.
The task force in El Paso has submitted a request to the USDA for federal
quarantine release, and the supporting documentation is being reviewed.
"We hope the process will take only a few days," Hillman said.
San Jose Mercury News, CA
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5996681.htm
News in brief from the San Joaquin Valley
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The state's second-largest bird expo was missing a key
component Sunday - birds. California wildlife officials banned birds from the
28th semiannual Bird Mart at the Fresno Fairground because of fear of spreading
Exotic Newcastle disease.
The disease, which is highly infectious to fowl but doesn't affect humans, has
led California authorities to destroy nearly 3.5 million commercial and backyard
birds at a cost of about $97 million.
Bird Mart exhibits were left lifeless with vendors selling cages, feed and toys.
"It's like a well-loved pet being replaced by a doorstop," said Fred Wilson, a
board member of the Central California Avian Society, which organizes the fair.
"Not having the birds takes the life out of it."
Bird Mart has typically attracted some 1,200 people, but this year's event saw
just 300 bird enthusiasts.
Fresno Bee, CA
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/6889524p-7826033c.html
Birds barred from Fresno event
Fear of Exotic Newcastle disease triggers ban at semiannual exhibit.
By Jennifer M. Fitzenberger
The Fresno Bee
(Published Monday, June 2, 2003, 7:55 AM)
Ceramic birds, stuffed fowls and photos of everything from cockatiels to finches
filled tables Sunday at Bird Mart on the Fresno Fairground.
No real birds, though, could be found. No telltale squawking, flapping wings or
colorful creatures to coo at.
Live birds were banned from the 28th semiannual event because of fear of the
spread of Exotic Newcastle disease, a deadly threat to exotic birds and
commercial flocks of chickens and turkeys.
What remained was an exhibit hall dotted with vendors selling cages, feed and
toys. They smiled and spoke jovially with customers, but gone was the
wall-to-wall crowd and infectious energy of past years.
"It's like a well-loved pet being replaced by a doorstop," said Fred Wilson, a
board member of the Central California Avian Society, which organized the mart.
"Not having the birds takes the life out of it."
Bird Mart is the second-largest bird expo in the state. In past years, it
attracted upwards of 1,200 people from the central San Joaquin Valley.
But on Sunday, just 300 people passed through the mart's gate. Most of the
event's 35 vendors -- down from the usual 60 to 90 -- broke even, but few made a
profit.
It was a hefty blow to backyard breeders, who rely heavily on such marts to sell
their birds. They don't make as much money by selling to pet stores or
contractors.
"Since we're all small, this is our way of developing and maintaining our
industry," said Wilson, who breeds small birds in Madera County.
Richard Womack, who runs R&S Exotic Birds in Woodlake, said the bird ban breaks
vendors: "I live 30 minutes from this show, and it isn't worth my time coming
here."
Such would explain the sometimes angry debate between vendors Sunday over the
onslaught of Exotic Newcastle. Many feel they have suffered unfair backlash over
a disease that hasn't spread this far north.
Exotic Newcastle affects all species of birds, particularly poultry. Since it
broke out last year in Southern California, eight counties south of Kern County
have been quarantined, meaning no birds can leave the area without special
permits.
About $97 million has been spent to eradicate the disease in California, where
nearly 3.5 million commercial and backyard birds have been destroyed.
The closest find to the Central Valley was a backyard flock in Mojave, in
southern Kern County.
The Avian Society canceled its mart last fall. Wilson hopes that birds will be
back for the next mart in November.
As precautions, organizers put foot baths and hand sanitizer Sunday at the front
door. Customers cleaned their hands and shoes before entering.
The virus can be picked up on clothing and carried from an infected flock to a
healthy one.
Said Mike Witesman, a representative of the Central California Exotic Newcastle
Disease Task Force: "Maybe it isn't here, but there are some things that can be
done to mitigate the problem."
The reporter can be reached at
jfitzenberger@fresnobee.com or 441-6313.
The Press Democrat, CA
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/01pestotherempirea.html
Scientists monitor spread of oak fungus, poultry disease
June 1, 2003
By TIM TESCONI
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
In addition to pests, agricultural officials are dealing with sudden oak death,
a deadly fungus spreading through oak woodlands, and exotic Newcastle, a highly
contagious disease that affects poultry.
The Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner's Office, in cooperation with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, will soon conduct a survey in rural areas of the
county to determine if Exotic Newcastle, a virus almost always fatal to poultry,
has infected backyard chicken flocks or other birds.
There have been no cases of exotic Newcastle in the county's commercial poultry
flocks, but the disease already could be in backyard and hobby flocks of
chickens, pigeons and other birds, Agricultural Commissioner John Westoby said.
The exotic Newcastle outbreak, now spreading through Southern California and
parts of Nevada, is the worst in 30 years, with more than 3.5 million chickens
destroyed to contain the disease's spread.
Sudden oak death has killed tens of thousands of trees in a 12-county coastal
region that includes Sonoma and Marin counties. Scientists are still months away
from having a chemical treatment that will help oak trees resist the fungal
disease.
Scientists believe Phytophthora ramorum, the pest that causes sudden oak death,
may have come into the United States on rhododendron shrubs imported from other
countries.
It's not known where the foreign fungus originated.
Scientists have confirmed Phytophthora ramorum has two different sexes, one in
the United States and one in Europe. The pest can reproduce both asexually and
by two coming together.
Based on histories of other Phytophthora species, scientists believe there must
be one place where both sexes can be found. But, with more than two dozen plants
and trees known to be susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum, pinning down the key
host and place of origin will be difficult.
Antelope Valley Press, CA
http://avpress.com/n/susty5.hts
June 1, 2003
WARNING SIGN - A sign on the northbound Antelope Valley Freeway just south of Avenue A describes a ban on the transportation of poultry. Southern California officials are attempting eradicate exotic Newcastle disease.
Poultry exports hurt by bird disease
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press Sunday, June 1, 2003.
By HEATHER LAKE
Valley Press Staff Writer
A ban in Southern California on poultry exhibits was expanded last month to include the entire state as the battle to eradicate exotic Newcastle disease continues.
"The prohibition on exhibiting poultry is … because of the infectious nature of the disease," said Adrian Woodfork, spokesperson for the exotic Newcastle disease task force.
"We are trying to wind this down by the end of the year," he said. The ban will remain in effect until then.
Though the disease poses no real threat to humans beyond mild conjunctivitis after prolonged exposure, its threat to the poultry and egg industry are very real.
While the impact on the egg industry was not readily available Friday, the impact on the poultry industry has been significant for breeders and smaller producers, said Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation.
Even though only 2% of the poultry industry is in exports, since the October outbreak of the disease about $5 million has been lost.
Though European countries ban meat exports from the United States because chlorine is used in the processing of the meat, the import of birds for breeding and of fertile eggs has ceased because of the disease, Mattos said.
Declared a state of emergency by Gov. Gray Davis and an extraordinary emergency by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the deadly and contagious avian disease still festering in Southern California permeated the quarantine's boundaries, entering Kern County at the end of April where four properties were depopulated, according to Woodfork.
Poultry prices in California have not increased because 98% of poultry meat comes from north of the Tehachapis, where the disease has not spread, Mattos said.
Try telling that to the European countries, Mexico and Canada, many of which are not expected to lift their ban until the state has been disease free for 90 days.
"They haven't accepted the regionalization concept," Mattos said.
The goal of the poultry industry is to get Northern California open to exports, said Mattos, who added that this is a prime example of why California needs to be regionalized.
"When something happens in Southern California, Northern California shouldn't suffer," he said.
"We are too big a state to stop the whole state."
Breeding companies who export just about everything out of California have been hit the worst, Mattos said.
"We just hope we can get Canada open soon," he said using as an example the export of squab to Canada where the "big time" market for the meat is at a standstill.
Overall the impact, though, has not been drastic, Mattos said.
"In the whole scheme of things Newcastle hasn't affected the industry as a whole," he said.
Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, partridges, pheasant, quail, guinea fowl, pea fowl, doves, pigeons, grouse, swans and ratites are the species prohibited from being sold at swap meets, bird marts, feed stores or from any public displays to prevent spreading the highly contagious disease.
Poultry and eggs are safe for human consumption.
Confirmed in California in October, the disease was probably taking hold in the state months earlier, experts believe.
In California alone, more than 3.4 million birds have been killed either because they were infected with the disease or because they were considered to be a "dangerous contact" because of their proximity to infected birds. California's outbreak pales in comparison to outbreaks in Texas, Arizona and Nevada. The overall cost of eradication in all states has exceeded $1.6 million, $1.5 million of that has been spent in California, Woodfork said.
Symptoms of the disease are flu-like and include respiratory and digestive ailments as well as nervousness and depression, a drop in egg production and the production of thin-shelled eggs.
Considered one of the most dangerous avian diseases, it is believed to have traveled to the United States from Mexico where an exact strain of the virus appeared in 2000 and is now endemic in the country.
The last major outbreak in the United States was in 1971, occurring in commercial poultry flocks in Southern California. The outbreak took until 1974 to eradicate.
Since October, members of the 1,500 person task force assigned to the outbreak have been holding public meetings.
The disease spreads primarily through direct contact of bodily discharge but also can be transmitted through bird droppings and other secretions, as well as anywhere equipment or humans come into contact with the secretions or feces of infected birds.
There have been no other instances of infected properties since the outbreak in Kern County, Woodfork said.
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