A flock of chickens on Martha’s Vineyard were euthanized after several tested positive for bird flu at the end of February.
The Martha’s Vineyard Boards of Health announced on Thursday that the chickens from a “small, noncommercial backyard flock” on the Island tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Since the owner was not selling eggs or meat, no additional safety measures are required.
“Four were confirmed positive, and the remainder of the flock of 50 was depopulated as a safety measure,” Edgartown health agent Brice Boutot told The Times.
The health department did not release the address of the backyard flock, nor which town it was in. Boutot said this was being done to protect the privacy of the birds’ owner, and to not discourage people from using the reporting system that is in place. Federal and state officials identify where cases are only by the county, and Boutot said Island health officials didn’t see a benefit to identifying the location any further.
Boutot also underscored that the migratory birds that may carry the disease don’t follow town lines, so bird flu guidelines are the same across the Island. “We’re small towns on a small Island,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the results on Feb. 26, and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources have “safely depopulated and disposed of the flock,” a release from the Island health boards states. Boutot said the information about the birds was available on the Agriculture Department’s website, but Vineyard health officials did not announce the cases until Thursday, so the state officials could work “without interference,” Boutot said.
This isn’t the first batch of bird flu on Martha’s Vineyard. A flock of wild turkeys in Edgartown tested positive for the disease last month.
The cases on Martha’s Vineyard are a part of the state’s largest outbreak of bird flu since 2022, which started at Billington Sea in Plymouth with the death of 60 Canada geese, swans, and ducks.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states there have been 70 human cases of bird flu across the country so far, and one death. There have been no human cases of bird flu in Massachusetts, and health officials on the Island say, “There is minimal risk for those who do not engage in prolonged, direct contact with infected animals.”
Local health officials provided a series of guidelines for Islanders to follow to prevent bird flu:
- Do not feed wild birds. Remove birdfeeders, birdbaths, standing water, and other conditions which encourage congregation of wild birds.
- Protect pets by leashing dogs, and prevent them from interacting with sick or dead birds; keep cats indoors, as HPAI can be fatal to cats.
- Protect poultry by keeping birds indoors or in covered pens, avoid tracking dirt/feces into coops, and prevent contact with wild birds. Visit USDA’s Defend The Flock site, bit.ly/USDA_DefendFlock, for recommendations.
- Protect yourself by avoiding direct contact with wild birds without use of personal protective equipment: gloves, a mask, and goggles. See Massachusetts guidelines here: bit.ly/MA_RespondersBirdFluSafety.
- Continue to report sick or dead poultry at mass.gov/reportpoultry, and five or more dead wild birds at mass.gov/reportbirds.
- Avoid unprotected contact with wild birds, and call your local animal control office for removal of dead birds. For advice on dealing with turkeys, visit mass.gov/info-details/prevent-conflicts-with-turkeys.
Sad for the caretakers of this flock 😥 💕
How was the flock “depopulated” and who was responsible for the action and disposal?
I can understand the desire for privacy, but as this infection spreads it may truly be necessary to let the public know if there is any pattern to the spread. Were the Boards of Health protecting a person or the community?
50 birds is not what I would consider a “small” flock. While they may not have been selling eggs commercially, they were certainly selling them to someone. Why is your reporter — or the BOH — misrepresenting this situation? What additional “safety measures” are required if the owner IS selling eggs?
I do not like it when health guidelines are blurred in this fashion and clearly that has happened. Thank you for letting us know about this flock, but more questions have been raised about the action — or lack of action — from the Boards of Health.
“Depopulated” is an interesting way to describe it, but I’d guess they had their heads chopped off by whomever was willing to do it. I suppose “euthanized” or “destroyed” would be too difficult for some to handle.
The “pattern to the spread” is that H5N1 is widespread in wild birds and waterfowl in Massachusetts. The state and towns have been saying that for some time now. Chickens are at high risk. The state & towns a have been saying that too. It’s why it’s called Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza: it’s devastating effect on chickens. Wild waterfowl fly on to the island, off the island, and around the island. The risk message is the same everywhere in Massachusetts, not just here: flock owners need to be extra extra careful and practice bio security to keep their chickens safe as this remains a primarily animal virus. Look up Defend The Flock.
Just for the record, the number of Canada geese, swans, ducks, and seagulls, collected and uncollected, on Billington Sea in Plymouth is in the hundreds. The ice formation on the lake prevented MA Wildlife from collecting many who have now sunk to the bottom. The town has a large digital sign at the top of Main Street warning against touching dead birds. It includes the phone number of the Plymouth health agent.
This is reportedly the largest outbreak in the state.
Thank you all for the informative comments.
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