Scientists warn Canada 'way behind the virus' as bird flu explodes among U.S. dairy cattle
Calls for active surveillance on both sides of the border after H5N1 spreads across 9 states
Newly released research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also showed profound impacts on farm cats — with a death rate of around 50 per cent among those fed raw milk products from infected cows.
Dr. #BarbPetersen, a dairy #veterinarian in #Amarillo, #Texas, had been caring for sick cows for several weeks in March when she and a colleague finally pinned down the cause of the illness among the herd: the #H5N1 strain of the #BirdFlu.
It was the first time the #virus had been detected in #cattle.
During that same time, she said, dairy workers also fell ill. #US
"Prior to Tuesday's announcement, HPAI H5N1 in livestock was not currently a reportable disease.
“It's not a foreign animal disease in dairy, like it's considered in poultry -- same virus -- but in poultry, there are reporting requirements. This is considered an emerging disease (in dairy cattle). And with that, there are no reporting requirements,” one source told Farm Journal. "
Every year, the bloom of thousands of almond trees in California spurs one of the world’s largest, albeit artificial, migrations of animals; as billions of #honeybees are loaded onto trucks and sent to deliver lucrative pollination fees for their human keepers.
This insect odyssey ensures paydays for often struggling beekeepers, the production of most of the world’s almonds, and increasingly, an opportunity for enterprising thieves.
Standing in the way of the bee rustlers — often alone — is #Rowdy#Freeman, a deputy at the Butte County Sheriff’s Office in California’s Central Valley.
Freeman is a steely sort of bee detective. Angular, with a shaved head and fond of wearing wrap-around sunglasses, the taciturn deputy is a beekeeper himself and is aghast at how hive thefts have become so ubiquitous.
Last year, according to Freeman calculations, a record of more than 🔸2,300 honeybee hives were stolen in the Central Valley🔸.
This year’s thefts could easily surpass that number, with Freeman recording nearly 2,000 hives stolen already.
Despite the growing scale of this crime, Freeman is typically the only law enforcement officer working with beekeepers to track the stolen hives and their thieves.
“I’m trying to get more help for this because it’s become a major problem, it’s getting out of control,” Freeman said.
While California has state branches devoted to stamping out the theft of #horses or #cattle, no such task force exists for bees, he notes with no small amount of envy and frustration.
The federal government is also uninterested in the issue, despite what Freeman describes as clear-cut evidence that stolen hives have been transported over state lines @thebeeguy @ai6yr @firephoto
"Some of the rarest creatures in Britain have now made Knepp their home, including kingfishers, hazel dormice, scarce chaser dragonflies and purple emperor butterflies. The river has returned to its natural course and the soil is now storing as much #carbon per hectare as a 25-year-old plantation of trees does, according to recent tests."
"Raising cattle is far from lucrative, even in wealthy economies where demand for beef is high. The agriculture department confirmed this month that US beef farmers and ranchers are in dire economic straits. For all their hard, dangerous work, 70% lose money and, excluding government support, their average net income per acre was less than 50 cents."
"A global annual investment of just 1% of the world’s GDP – around $1tn – to pay farmers who choose to transition from cattle husbandry to #restoration and management of native #forests and #grasslands would significantly raise the income of cattle farmers and stimulate rural communities, while rapidly reducing global warming and reversing the global collapse of biodiversity. And that would be a bargain."