Avian flu forces Sask. farm to cull entire holiday turkey flock

Move over, Mr. Grinch. This year, it’s the avian flu that’s stealing Christmas from a Saskatchewan farm.

Melanie Boldt, co-owner of Pine View Farms, said the farm had to cull its Christmas flock of turkeys after testing found they were infected with avian flu.

“Avian flu is a big concern for poultry producers across Canada and across the globe. Last week, avian flu was detected in our flock of turkeys and, unfortunately, they all had to be euthanized,” Boldt explained.

“That’s just a way to prevent the disease spread and mitigate the risk to surrounding farms.”

According to Boldt, those measures had to be taken in accordance with rules from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Boldt said her farm – located north of Saskatoon – was able to get through Thanksgiving without any avian flu issues, but she suggested it has sprung up again now due to Saskatchewan’s longer fall, which meant birds migrated later in the season than normal.

“Avian flu is carried in the wild bird population, so ducks and geese primarily. It’s at greatest risk to domestic bird producers during the migration periods,” she said.

The avian flu cases that popped up at Pine View Farms mean that Boldt and her team won’t have any of their own turkeys to sell during the Christmas season.

“It takes 15 weeks to raise a turkey, so we don’t have time to start another flock. Plus you need down time in barns and buildings (after an infection) to allow any bacteria or disease to be disinfected and removed from the building and such,” Boldt said.

“We don’t have time to do that. However, we have sourced an alternate supply of local, Saskatchewan-raised birds that will be fresh for the holidays. It just won’t be our birds.”

Boldt called the situation economically devastating. She said staff at her farm have been doing everything they can to prevent the disease from entering their barns.

“It’s the ebb and flow of disease cycles. We’ve implemented biosecurity and take great care as producers. At the end of the day, nature does what nature does,” she explained.

Because a disease like avian flu is considered an act of God, insurance can’t help the farm recoup its losses.

“It’s an economic loss in terms of the opportunity cost of not having birds to sell, and that down time required until you can repopulate your farm again. It’s a big concern for the industry as a whole,” she said.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, six Saskatchewan farms have seen cases of avian flu this fall.