Biosecurity breaches exposed within poultry industry
Rodent infestations, improper disposal of dead birds among issues, documents reveal
Wild birds nesting in poultry barns, rodent infestations, improper disposal of dead birds and domestic dogs in restricted areas are among the biosecurity breaches on Fraser Valley poultry farms, freedom of information documents reveal. Annual biosecurity audits obtained by The Vancouver Sun show that poultry farmers also failed to ensure all materials and equipment entering farms are clean and to conduct required bacteriological water quality tests in the months leading up to the outbreak last December of avian influenza.
Wild waterfowl can carry avian flu without showing signs of the disease, which thrives under the Fraser Valley’s cool, wet conditions in winter.
Poultry flocks can be infected by waterfowl feces, including on infected machinery, someone’s shoes, feed or wood shavings. Rodents and birds are capable of introducing the disease into barns on their feet and bodies.
Poultry officials acknowledge that the failure of even one farm to maintain biosecurity standards can prove costly — for farmers and taxpayers alike.
“Any chink in the armour may cause a problem,” confirmed Jim Collins, executive director of the province’s Farm Industry Review Board.
He noted that the biosecurity breaches outlined in the FOI documents show the importance of continued communications with industry “because we all get a little sloppy if we are not reminded from time to time what our obligations are.”
The federal government spent $20.7 million on the 2014 outbreak, including the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)’s response and compensation payments to farmers.
Dwight Yochim, executive director of the BC Egg Marketing Board, said industry is constantly sending out newsletters on biosecurity.
“It’s human nature to just kind of say, ‘I’ve done something before, I’ll do it again.’ And it’s the 10th time that it gets you. We try to keep it front and centre all year,” he said.
Officials also noted that the marketing board audits show the majority of farmers are doing a good job on biosecurity and that the extent of the avian flu outbreak in 2014 paled in comparison with the 2004 event.
“There was a big difference,” said Bill Vanderspek, executive director of the B.C. Chicken Marketing Board. “It’s a testament to the biosecurity program” throughout the poultry industry.
The 2014 avian flu hammered 11 commercial poultry farms, resulting in the slaughter of about 250,000 birds.
In comparison, 42 farms were directly hit in 2004 — the first such major event in the Fraser Valley — which ultimately resulted in the killing of more than 14 million birds from 410 farms and the loss of $300 million in economic opportunity.
Industry argues biosecurity measures are designed to reduce the disease risk as much as reasonably possible but that perfection is unattainable.
“We think of these programs as black and white,” said Ray Nickel, president of the B.C. Poultry Association. “But you can’t 100 per cent guarantee that I don’t have rodents or a potential bird won’t get in. “The intent of the program is to minimize risk and everyone shares in that together.”
Farms on alert
Fraser Valley poultry producers are on heightened alert after confirmation of avian flu in a wild mallard duck shot by a hunter in Abbotsford in November.
“We’re telling the growers to be even more vigilant,” said Michel Benoit, general manager of the B.C. Turkey Marketing Board. “Minimize contact with other farmers, definitely change clothes and wash up before going anywhere near the barns.”
The federal and provincial governments are providing $300,000 to increase surveillance, early detection, and response measures to avian flu, including specialized equipment at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford to diagnose sediment samples at ponds and wetlands used by wild waterfowl.
The federal and provincial governments are providing $300,000 to increase surveillance, early detection, and response measures to avian flu, including specialized equipment at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford to diagnose sediment samples at ponds and wetlands used by wild waterfowl.
A 2013 PricewaterhouseCoopers study pegged the B. C. poultry industry at 583 farms with farm gate receipts of $569 million, based on 2011 figures. An estimated 80 per cent of poultry farms are located in the Fraser Valley, Nickel said.
Four marketing boards overseeing turkey and chicken production in B.C., including eggs, initially resisted The Sun’s request for copies of the 2014 audits, but agreed to a compromise in which the names and addresses of farms were removed from hundreds of pages of documents. The Farm Industry Review Board also emphasized the need for increased transparency in marketing board operations and decision-making.
The biosecurity checklist includes some 55 categories, ranging from paperwork requirements such as up-to-date logbooks and standard operating procedures to more critical issues designed to keep farms safe from diseases that could endanger flocks.
Marketing boards began to conduct mandatory biosecurity audits in 2006 in response to the massive 2004 outbreak.
The Sun reviewed 236 audits of Fraser Valley chicken farms and found biosecurity breaches in 68, including: the need to change boots when crossing a demarcation line into the bird area; unscreened access points to barns; lack of hand sanitizers; squirrel holes; improper disposal of dead birds; insufficient cleaning of fans and servicing rooms; and bird nests in barns.
‘Nasty’ rodents
Kathy Erickson, manager of field services for the B. C. Chicken Marketing Board, said she’s aware of at least one starling nest located in a barn loft above — but not directly within — the chicken area. The concern is for feces to find their way to the chickens, including via rodents. Auditors with an eye for detail often notice issues that farmers do not, including holes created due to missing boards or mesh screens.
“You can get birds in any situation where you don’t have screens,” Erickson said.
“Starlings are notorious for breaking into barns through tiny holes.”
Several poultry farmers failed to keep grass cut around barns, fill in potholes and conduct other measures such as maintaining bait traps as a way to avoid rodent infestations.
“Rodents are nasty little buggers,” said Katie Lowe, operations manager of the B.C. Egg Marketing Board.
Benoit observed that barns represent a “warm environment with food and water” for rodents. “Our growers are trying really hard. Are they perfect? We’re talking about a virus and it’s difficult to control. It’s a big challenge.”
Almost 10 per cent of the audits conducted by the B.C. Broiler Hatching Egg Commission (BCBHEC) at 62 B.C. farms required corrective actions. Stephanie Nelson, executive director of BCBHEC, said the most common issues involved incomplete signage, failure to conduct water tests and lack of documentation. Water tests are required even for farms on municipal water systems due to potential for problems within a water line on the farm. The Sun found biosecurity issues in 16 of 87 audits of Fraser Valley table-egg farms, including two cases where dogs were allowed into areas such as where special boots are put on to reduce disease transfer.
“Dogs are absolutely not allowed in a restricted access zone,” Lowe insisted.
How is it transmitted?
Although an official federal report on the 2014 avian flu outbreak event won’t be released until 2016, Abed Harchaoui, senior staff veterinarian with the CFIA, told The Sun that most of the 11 farms directly affected last winter obtained the disease from wild waterfowl.
Airborne transmissions were not determined.
“We don’t have any evidence,” Harchaoui said from Ottawa.
That naturally turns the suspicion to humans, animals, equipment and materials for bringing the disease into poultry operations — exactly the sorts of biosecurity breaches found in the audits.
“CFIA is not looking to blame any of the stakeholders,” Harchaoui said. “We are looking collectively to prevent any further outbreaks and to prevent any further spread.”
The Ministry of Agriculture’s chief veterinary officer, Jane Pritchard, said from Abbotsford that eight of the 11 cases in 2014 involved direct transfer from wild flocks into barns rather than from poultry farm to poultry farm. Airborne transmission cannot be ruled out over short distances between barns, but neither can transmission by people and rodents, she said.
Pritchard added that an element of luck is involved, noting that a poultry farmer’s location may have as much to do with getting avian flu as biosecurity measures.
“We probably have many bad operators who have never had avian influenza because they are in an area of lower risk and are not exposed to a high density of migratory water fowl or are sitting on dry land,” she said.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says it is unclear how highly pathogenic avian influenza is introduced into poultry flocks, although the spread between poultry facilities usually results from the movement of infected birds or contaminated people and equipment, including clothing, boots and vehicles, even the outer surface of egg shells.
“Airborne transmission of avian influenza virus from farm to farm is not likely,” the organization states.
The 2014 disease event caused widespread economic and logistical chaos beyond the 11 farms affected, including a federal imposition of security zones that required permits for bird movement. With export markets closed, the industry also had to scramble to find alternative buyers at significantly lower prices.
“You have no choice but to take the sale,” Benoit said.
Backyard chickens
There can be literally thousands of strains of avian flu, some low pathogenic, some high pathogenic, and some low path capable of becoming high path. The strains last year in the Fraser Valley did not harm humans, but other strains globally have caused flu-like symptoms and even death, especially in areas such as Asia. In Alberta last year, a woman with H5N1 avian influenza died after returning from Beijing. Nickel of the B.C. Poultry Association added that the public wants backyard freerange chickens, but those operations pose a risk to traditional commercial poultry operations.
Organic products are a growing segment of the commercial poultry industry. A certified organic chicken is fed organic grains, receives no antibiotics even during sickness and has access to the outside. The organic share of the market has grown from 0.25 per cent to more than two per cent over six years. Due to the 2004 avian flu outbreak, even small backyard free-range operations require permits from the marketing board.
“You want to have no breaches, you want a secure environment, but we’re going to let birds pasture outside almost on a regular basis,” Nickel said. “It’s still not an excuse for our commercial guys to be laissez-faire about how they deal with and manage those potential risk areas.”
Pritchard confirmed the added biosecurity risks when chickens are allowed outside. “It’s very challenging to do very good rodent control and bird control if you have an open door or an open wall.”
None of the 11 farms infected in 2014 involved free-range poultry outside of barns. Nickel noted that industry is also working on a mandatory insurance that would provide compensation for future avian flu losses.