Bird flu restrictions cause heartache for 4-H kids unable to show off livestock at fairs across US
States across the country have implemented strict restrictions around livestock after an outbreak of avian influenza, commonly referred to as “bird flu.”
EVART, Mich. (AP) — Alison Smith stared at the virtually empty dairy barn inside the Osceola County Fairgrounds, once bustling with teens and preteens preparing to show their prized animals but now eerily silent as an invisible virus once again interfered with a cherished summertime rite.
Smith, a 16-year-old from the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area, had invested a significant amount of time over the past year preparing two heifers, Evergreen and Perfect, for competition at the fair. But like hundreds of fairs nationwide, a recent bird flu outbreak, now spreading among mammals, forced significant changes — or outright cancellations — of the livestock contests that are a hallmark of summer fairs.
“Normally, we have a million cows in here,” Smith said. “And just a lot of people talking and having fun catching up in the dairy barn.”
States have tightened restrictions on dairy cows following the bird flu outbreak that has spread to millions of poultry flocks nationwide and nearly 200 dairy herds across 13 U.S. states since March. More than a dozen farmworkers also have been infected this year, with all experiencing relatively mild symptoms.
