July 12, 2024

Close to two million chickens to be culled as bird flu found at Colorado, US farm

Nearly 1.8 million chickens will be killed after bird flu was detected at an egg-laying operation in Weld County, Colorado, the United States.

The outbreak has led to Colorado Governor Jared Polis making a disaster declaration — the move activates the state's emergency operations plan and makes additional resources available to respond to the outbreak.

A spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Agriculture declined to name the affected facility.

The mass culling exercise, as a result of the Weld County outbreak, will be the second-largest in a commercial flock since bird flu was first detected in Colorado in early 2002.

In June 2022, an outbreak at a commercial poultry facility, also in Weld County, led to more than 1.9 million birds being culled.

- The Colorado Sun