Nearly 3.5 million chickens in Lancaster County destroyed due to avian flu

On Apr 22, 2022

Nearly 3.5 million chickens in Lancaster County have been destroyed because of avian flu.Despite that, state Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding said he’s encouraged about where Pennsylvania stands in the fight against the devastating virus.Redding said he feels confident in the actions being taken to stop the spread of avian flu.”We have to contain this virus. That’s what this game is about right now,” he said.The state’s effort to do that is working so far.Three commercial chicken farms have tested positive for avian flu, and they are all in what’s being called the control zone. It’s the six-mile radius surrounding the East Donegal Township farm where the virus was first detected.According to Redding, the control zone is critical to stopping the spread of avian flu.”To control what goes in, what comes out and to make sure that both the affected farms but also those who could infect other farms – not just in the zone but outside – were permitted to do so and contained,” he said.Redding said the limitations being imposed on all of the farms in control zone are working.”We put more restrictions in than anybody would prefer from a business standpoint, but really critical to reassure the markets and also our international trading partners that we’ve got command of this,” he said.Redding said a lot has been learned since the last outbreak of avian flu in the 1980s, and those lessons are helping the state make sure it has a strong response now.

Nearly 3.5 million chickens in Lancaster County have been destroyed because of avian flu.

Despite that, state Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding said he’s encouraged about where Pennsylvania stands in the fight against the devastating virus.

Redding said he feels confident in the actions being taken to stop the spread of avian flu.

“We have to contain this virus. That’s what this game is about right now,” he said.

The state’s effort to do that is working so far.

Three commercial chicken farms have tested positive for avian flu, and they are all in what’s being called the control zone. It’s the six-mile radius surrounding the East Donegal Township farm where the virus was first detected.

According to Redding, the control zone is critical to stopping the spread of avian flu.

“To control what goes in, what comes out and to make sure that both the affected farms but also those who could infect other farms – not just in the zone but outside – were permitted to do so and contained,” he said.

Redding said the limitations being imposed on all of the farms in control zone are working.

“We put more restrictions in than anybody would prefer from a business standpoint, but really critical to reassure the markets and also our international trading partners that we’ve got command of this,” he said.

Redding said a lot has been learned since the last outbreak of avian flu in the 1980s, and those lessons are helping the state make sure it has a strong response now.