N.L. homesteader urging people to quarantine their feathered friends over fear of bird flu

The presence of avian influenza in Newfoundland and Labrador has a homesteader calling on farmers and other homesteaders to quarantine their flocks.

That's because one case of the deadly virus known as bird flu, as well as a suspected case, were detected by federal officials last week in central parts of the island. There is no treatment for avian influenza, and it is more likely to kill poultry like chicken and turkeys than wild birds.

Steve McBride, a homesteader in Mobile and the founder of the Facebook group Backyard Farming and Homesteading N.L., said members are keeping an eye on the possible spread of bird flu.

"I think people are starting to take precautions. One of the precautions that we take in our backyard farming and homesteading group on Facebook is simply to advise people to quarantine their birds and separate them if they're going to be bringing in new birds," McBride told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.

LISTEN | CBC's Jamie Fitzpatrick chats with homesteader Steve McBride about bird flu worries: 

St John's Morning Show6:32A resurgence of the bird flu has backyard farmers on alert

Bird flu has reared it's head once again. There were two suspected cases in central Newfoundland last week. This morning we spoke with local homesteader Steve McBride, who's calling for quarantine.

In 2022, the last time bird flu was found in N.L., he decided to take precautions at his homestead base.

"As somebody who keeps backyard birds, I recognize that I couldn't just keep doing the same old, same old. So we built an indoor-outdoor enclosure, a covered run with netting over it and such," said McBride.

That way, he can let his birds in the outdoor enclosure to get fresh air and exercise but when he's worried about possible cases of bird flu, he can coop them up in the inside enclosure.

While he said most people he interacts with take the threat of bird flu seriously, there are some who deny its existence, which he likened to COVID-19 deniers.

"There are some some people that are wrapped up in denialism and the idea that maybe this is some sort of hoax or maybe this is some sort of plan by the government to come for your chickens," said McBride.

Stopping spread

In an email to CBC News, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease said this is the first time they've found the H5N5 subtype in the province, but "the detection is not unexpected as H5N5 has been circulating in wildlife and wild birds in Eastern Canada since 2023."

The spokesperson cited privacy about revealing the location for the cases but did say it was in a non-commercial operation with fewer than 1,000 birds.

"Zoning and movement controls have been established to mitigate the risk of infection at other premises and surveillance is underway to determine if there has been any spread of the H5N5 subtype," it added.

Hitting other areas

McBride said in the U.S. there have been widespread culls due to bird flu, which has led to an increase in the price of eggs, adding B.C. has seen a surge in cases that has resulted in quarantining and culling.

In rare cases, there can be transmission between birds and other species as well as with humans, McBride said, pointing to a recent case in B.C. that resulted in a child being hospitalized in intensive care.

"Those kinds of things are in the background reminding us that not only is this a risk for chickens and our ducks, but this could go further than that," said McBride.

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