1 week Ago By Dan Noyes
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Could animal rights activists have been responsible for spreading avian flu at Sonoma County poultry farms? A new investigation by the State Department of Food and Agriculture finds that is a possibility. But the activists tell us that regulators are trying to divert blame away from problems inherent in the poultry industry.
While the situation has improved, hundreds of thousands of chickens and ducks had to be euthanized after the outbreak last fall, and it caused egg and poultry prices to soar. Animal rights activists have targeted Sonoma County's chicken and duck farms for years. In a previous I-Team report , we had undercover video from an activist who got a job at Reichardt duck farm in 2014.
She said, "The things I saw were absolutely horrifying. They still haunt me to this day." MORE: Traces of H5N1 bird flu virus found in some milk, pasteurized dairy: FDA Now, a report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture says it's "plausible" that activists spread avian flu during security breaches inside the duck barns on Oct.
24 and Nov. 14 of last year. Bill Mattos of the California Poultry Federation tells us that the avian flu outbreak was devastating for the poultry industry in Sonoma County -- more than 250,000 chicken and ducks were killed.
"When you have a depopulation of a ranch because of bird flu, the ranch is disinfected and cleaned," Mattos said. "And then it's got to stay empty for a while for it to make sure it doesn't .
