Live bird shows and auctions in Iowa can resume, ag department says

After a month without confirmation of an avian flu outbreak in Iowa, the state lifted an order Thursday that prevented live bird exhibitions or gatherings and kept live birds from being sold at livestock auctions or swap meets.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship had issued the order Nov. 10, intended to slow the spread of the virus. The last confirmed case of the bird flu in Iowa was Dec. 12, in a commercial turkey flock in Ida County.

“Commercial poultry producers and those with backyard birds should continue to be vigilant with their biosecurity because this destructive disease still poses a serious ongoing risk,” Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in a statement. “We are continually monitoring highly pathogenic avian influenza case counts worldwide and we remain ready to quickly respond should spring migration bring us another enhanced level of threat.”

In 2022, roughly 16 million birds were culled in Iowa between the state’s commercial and backyard chicken and turkey flocks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Two of those flocks contained more than 5 million egg-laying chickens each. And of the 30 known outbreaks, seven occurred in December alone.

Officials believe the main carrier of the virus are migrating wild birds, accounting for the surge of cases in the spring during the migration to the north, and then in the fall during the migration south.