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Bird flu forces Long Island farm to euthanize 99,000 ducks

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Ducks milling about.

Long Island’s largest duck farm is grappling with a devastating bird flu outbreak that has forced the facility to euthanize its entire flock of 99,000 ducks, Newsday reported.

Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue has been under quarantine since last week, with teams of state and federal agricultural workers on-site to contain the outbreak. Established in 1908, the farm is the last large commercial duck operation on Long Island, a region once world-renowned for its duck farms.

Doug Corwin, president of the family-owned farm, said he first noticed signs of illness in a few of his ducks last Wednesday, Newsday’s Mark Harrington and Lisa L. Colangelo reported. Since then, he has laid off 47 of the farm’s 75 workers, leaving him with no revenue and an uncertain future. The property has been owned by the Corwin family since the 1600s.

Workers at the farm are being required to follow strict biosecurity protocols, including wearing Tyvek suits, sanitized boots and gloves, and undergoing sanitization when entering and exiting the property.

The Veterinary Service of New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is overseeing the site. Also on site are inspectors with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The outbreak is caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as H5N1, a highly contagious and often deadly respiratory disease of poultry. While there have been human cases of bird flu globally, none have been reported in New York, and no cases have been detected in dairy cows in the state.

Following the culling of so many ducks, Corwin told Newsday the farm’s only hope of survival lies in obtaining a special state permit to restart its flock using 10,000 quarantined eggs. The farm’s genetics, passed down over generations, are essential to its operation.

Top photo: Crescent Duck Farm (courtesy file photo).

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