Animal disease experts are raising concern about the spread of the avian flu in the Bay Area after two farms in Sonoma County said they had to euthanize around 250,000 birds this week. The decision was made after routine testing came back positive for bird flu at a duck and egg farm in Petaluma. “It’s just been devastating for us, nothing but devastating,” said Mike Weber, a third-generation Sonoma County egg farmer, who co-owns Sunrise Farms, and had to euthanize more than 80,000 chickens after they tested positive for the latest strain of the flu. “We’re just trying to do what we can to eliminate the virus on our farm, so we don’t pose a risk to the other poultry farms in the area,” said Weber. Weber says his neighbors, a nearby duck farm, were hit far worse.
“They lost their entire operation, 170,000 ducks, and those ducks are coveted across the state,” said Weber. The positive cases were confirmed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Read more