LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Roger Victory this week met with officials from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the news about highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) being detected at six Ottawa County poultry farms over the past month.
“This is an extremely serious situation, and thankfully, everyone involved — from the state to the local farmers — are doing everything they can to protect poultry in West Michigan,” said Victory, R-Hudsonville. “I will continue to work with all parties to help get this outbreak under control and ensure our farmers have the tools and resources to protect their flocks.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, over 344,000 birds have been impacted in Ottawa County in the six most recent outbreaks at Michigan commercial farms.
Ottawa County is the state’s top county for commercial turkey farming, raising 70% of the state’s turkeys.
HPAI can be spread directly by infected wild birds or animals or indirectly through any item that has been exposed to the virus, which has been detected in various species of mammals, including Michigan dairy cattle.
To contain the spread of the virus, if a farm detects one sick bird, the facility’s entire flock must be depopulated or killed.
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