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Iowa cancels live bird exhibitions

The Iowa Department of Agriculture has canceled all live bird exhibitions at fairs and other gatherings due to highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Ag Secretary Mike Naig says HPAI threats reemerged this fall. “It’s just unfortunate that in this environment with birds migrating south again, we just felt like this was an important step to take,” he said.

The order also prohibits live birds from being sold at livestock auction markets, swap meets, and exotic sales.

But Naig tells Brownfield poultry shows aren’t typically held during the winter months. “This is a slower time for those types of activities,” he said. “There is still an impact to folks, but it’s not as great as it would have been had we had to keep that prohibition in place during the summer months.”

Naig says the order is effective for a minimum of 30 days after any new infection in the state.