Worst bird-flu season in years hits Alberta’s poultry farmers

Alberta poultry producers are experiencing their worst bird flu season in years.

Scott Olson has been through this twice before.

A Wetaskiwin turkey farmer lost his flock of 10,000 birds in the spring of 2022 when wild geese migration stopped, and then again when they returned in the fall.

He is now dealing with his third outbreak and third culling.

Olson is pressure washing his two large barns again—disinfecting them while awaiting inspection—and preparing to resume recertification after Christmas with new chicks.

“This is such a serious disease,” said Olson, also director of Alberta Turkey Producers.

“We have an eradication policy, essentially, to not impact our neighbors… It's like a fire: you just try to put it out.”

As of Nov. 30, Olson's was one of 11 commercial poultry plants in Alberta managed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that are active quarantine and containment areas.

There were six in Alberta for all of 2024, including two at large commercial establishments. There were 10 outbreaks in poultry plants, egg plants, and chicken and turkey hatcheries in 2023, and 38 in 2022.

In total, 2.5 million birds died from avian flu in Alberta during this period, second only to British Columbia with more than nine million deaths.

These provinces account for two-thirds of all deaths nationwide.

The situation in Alberta has gotten worse this fall.

“It's on everyone's mind,” said Jeff Notenbomer, who raises chickens near Lethbridge and is director of the Canadian Poultry Research Council.

He escaped the outbreak, but he sympathizes with those whose herds are at risk.

“You know, we're all very vigilant about doing everything perfectly.”

Farms protect against spread

This means isolating herds, limiting visitor access, and washing boots or tires before equipment enters the barn.

Some biologists question whether the “biosecurity” standards needed to stop a highly infectious disease are achievable for agricultural operations.

“[High-level] Biosecurity in a barn where you drive a tractor is a big challenge to ensure complete safety,” said University of Alberta biology professor Kathy Magor, who specializes in avian influenza.

She said the concentration of poultry farms near waterways where birds nest along migratory routes is a major reason for the bird's high numbers in the West.

The virus may be present in feces left in fields.

And what some might call the obvious suspect may not be the main culprit in spreading the virus, Magor said.

“Everyone hates Canada geese, but they are very susceptible to bird flu and will die if they get it,” Magor said.

She said more research is needed, but some wild birds may be more dangerous carriers because they can live with the disease longer.

“Some other species that also migrate are less susceptible and may carry the disease further.”

This fall, outbreaks have spread from north to south, likely due to a mild fall and long migration period.

Time is money for farmers who are paid by weight

Alberta's Ministry of Agriculture says there have been outbreaks in 22 herds since the start of the year.

The latest case occurred at a 40,000-turkey farm near Taber, which was discovered in late November.

The outbreaks, while devastating for individual farmers, represent a relatively small portion of the roughly 15 million kilograms of poultry that Alberta turkey farms produce each year.

That's not enough to raise prices for consumers, agricultural price observers say. However, Statistics Canada reports turkey prices in October were slightly higher than last fall in Alberta and across the country.

But for some manufacturers, the outbreak means months of work and lost profits.

When Canadian Food Inspection Agency orders a culling related to an infectious disease, he compensates the owner for the market value of the animals at that time.

This means that if the herd or herd is still maturing (putting on the pounds that determine the price), the payout will be less than what farmers expected to receive at the end of the season.

There are also additional costs and downtime.

“While I'm cleaning and disinfecting, I'm missing out on a potential flock,” said Olson, who had already delayed the delivery of a shipment of new poults, known as turkey hens, that were due to be born just as the infection hit his farm.

“It’s also a big blow to them mentally,” Notenbomer said. “Depending on another pen [poultry] industry, recovery may take more than a year.”

Farms and surrounding lands become 'major containment zones'

Olson's 10,000 birds were housed in two large barns and were considered infected last month after a positive test.

“Bird flu basically wiped out one barn — it works pretty quickly — and the other barn was euthanized,” Olson said.

The “depopulation” of the farm was part of the strategy to combat bird flu from 2022, aimed at eradicating the disease in specific locations known as “containment zones”. Livestock are not allowed on or on the property. The corpses are destroyed or buried deep underground.

Monitoring of wild bird deaths continues within a 10-kilometer radius for 28 days after the order is lifted.

Once cleaned, disinfected and certified by inspectors, farm operations can resume.

The strategy, typically used to treat some of the most serious animal diseases, has been at the center of controversy this year after culling of a herd of ostriches who was exposed to bird flu in British Columbia.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency declined interview requests about the situation in Alberta and the outbreak affecting 100,000 turkeys in southern Ontario this month.

Olson told CBC News he's happy to be working with the agency but is frustrated by the cycle.

“When the geese arrived in the spring [of 2022]our farm got it. And when they went home in the fall, we got it again,” he said.

“I didn’t sell turkey that year.”