Easter might be better-than-normal for poultry farmers

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – We’re basically a week away from Easter dinner, which usually includes turkey or chicken.

Local poultry farmers are hoping for robust sales, now that the Avian flu outbreak appears to be over.

Safety protocols at local farms have been lifted, but bird populations are still being tested for the flu.

Ray Nickel with the BC Poultry Association says at Christmas time, at the height of the bird flu outbreak, consumers needed some reassuring that the disease could not be transmitted to people.

“It’s not a health risk for humans, it’s a bird issue. We’re looking forward to a calm Easter without any ensuing outbreaks.”

Business might be better than normal for local farms, given raw poultry products from a number of states including Washington still can’t be brought across the border, thanks to the Avian flu outbreak.

But those restrictions are having an impact on local farms.

“We use a certain number of baby chicks from Arkansas. We get eggs from that state that are used for hatching baby broiler chicks,” says Nickel.

Raw products from Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Minnesota, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington are prohibited in Canada for the time being.

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