“[I’m] contrite. “She is upset,” she told CBC in an interview from her property near Burton’s tiny West Kootenay community. Ife’s is the third swarm in BC. tested positive for the highly contagious H5N1 virus, although the news came as no surprise. On Monday, she told Radio West presenter Sarah Penton that she was very suspicious of bird flu when her list of about 70 egg layers was reduced to just twelve in the four days since an illness hit her farm. Some of the birds were lethargic and indifferent to food, and after a little research, Ife found that bird flu was the possible cause. Her farm has now been quarantined by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and more than 100 surviving birds – mostly chicks – have been euthanized. “It really hurt a lot. I went in last night and said goodbye to my babies,” Ife said.

Officials are calling for measures to prevent the transmission

Bird flu is sweeping North America, and BC confirmed the first case of a farm in North Okanagan earlier this month, followed by an outbreak in a small flock of poultry in Kelowna earlier this week. According to a press release from the BC government, seven wild birds that died between 21 and 27 April were also tested positive for H5 strains of avian influenza, including three geese and a Canadian goose in the Vanderhoof area and bald eagles in Lac la . Hache, Bowen Island and Vancouver. BC has instructed all commercial poultry farmers with more than 100 birds to move their flocks indoors by the end of the spring migration in May. Officials have advised people with small flocks of poultry to temporarily stop filling their feeders and bird baths to reduce contact between pets and wild birds. Ife, who calls her chickens “my girls”, said she always fed wild birds around her property. “I have been feeding wild birds for seventeen years and the girls are running free and nothing has happened. It is sad,” he said. Peggy Eife called her chickens “my girls” and said she treated them like her children. (Peggy Eiffe)
Her losses include a 14-year-old goose, an eight-year-old hen and countless birds that she said she treated like her children. “They are very spoiled,” Ife said. “When I go shopping for groceries, it’s funny because I’m not just looking for myself, I’m looking for my birds for whatever is on offer.” He said he would like to see a lot more research on bird flu so that those in charge can develop a better idea of ​​how it is transmitted. In her case, the baby birds were kept in a separate structure from the larger animals and showed no signs of illness, so one can only wonder how necessary it was to eradicate them. Nevertheless, Ife is ready to start from the beginning. “I will move on. I have some friends who are starting their incubators for me,” he said. Avian flu cases have been confirmed in many other provinces, but no human infections have been detected. The CFIA said the disease is not considered a major concern for healthy people who do not come into regular contact with infected birds.