Anthony RobledoMike Snider

USA TODAY

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• The outbreak is a significant blow to the region’s duck farming industry, as Crescent Duck Farm is one of the last remaining commercial duck farms in Long Island.
• The farm’s president, Doug Corwin, expressed devastation over the situation, describing it as a personal and historical loss.
• This incident follows a recent bird flu case at a commercial poultry plant in Georgia, highlighting the ongoing concern of the virus’s spread.
• Bird flu continues to impact poultry populations nationwide, contributing to rising egg prices and prompting increased surveillance and testing measures.

A Long Island farm will reportedly euthanize more than 100,000 ducks after a bird flu outbreak hit the eastern New York facility.

Staff at the Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, New York, noticed that many of birds were ill, according to Newsday and local station WABC-TV. They later tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which has been infecting people, pets and poultry across the U.S.

Crescent Duck Farm President Doug Corwin said the euthanasia is particularly devastating as Long Island used to be known for its extensive duck farming industry. The business is the largest major commercial duck farm in Suffolk County and one of the last in Long Island, WABC reported.

The family-owned farm has been operating since 1908, WABC reported.

“You constantly monitor your flock − three times a day. One day things looked unusual. I noticed a few lethargic birds that didn’t seem right,” Corwin told Newsday. “It’s my legacy. I think we’re kind of iconic, considering we are what Long Island was known for. And I just don’t want it to end this way.”

But the entire flock has to be killed for public safety, Suffolk County Health Commissioner Gregson Pigott told the station.

“Unfortunately, when you have a situation like this where you have a flock that’s infected, the remedy is to put the entire flock down,” he said.

January212025

HuntingTaylor BrazanBaton Rouge, La.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is cautioning all hunters to stay home, stay off the roads, and to not access any Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) at this time due to the hazards presented by the winter storm.

The Department understands that with this unprecedented snow, many outdoorsmen will want to go to their blind or stand to hunt, but the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division has already had to make several search and rescues. Therefore, for your safety and for that of others, LDWF asks that all hunters stay home, stay in their camp, stay off the roads, and avoid traveling to any WMAs.https://www.youtube.com/embed/JKQKXiAVQ9A

Please monitor the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and your local governments for the latest on road closures, incidents, and other alerts. Download the Get A Game Plan App for up to date information on Louisiana’s emergency management efforts. 

Utah Public Radio | By Caroline Long

Published January 21, 2025 at 3:40 PM MST

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• https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2025-01-21/places-where-coyote-hunting-is-legal-have-more-coyotes-research-shows

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Coyotes are native to the southwestern U.S. and have expanded their range rapidly in the last 100 years. A recent study examines patterns of coyote abundance.

“Now they’re found basically throughout all of North America. … And so, our main goal was to figure out – what are the environmental and human-led factors driving this expansion?”

Austin Green, one of the study’s authors, is an ecologist for Sageland Collaborative and an associate instructor at the University of Utah. He said the data for this study came from Snapshot USA, a network of camera traps across the contiguous United States.

“From that data, we can look at long-term nationwide trends in wildlife populations,” Green said.

What they found was that, in states and counties where coyote hunting is allowed, coyotes are actually more abundant.

“There’s a number of potential reasons for why we are seeing this kind of weird, what we call “coyote math,” where two minus one equals three,” Green said.

It does seem to be a pretty consistent trend. However, Green said, that where hunting pressures exist, coyote populations are high.

In Utah, hunting coyotes is encouraged to protect the mule deer population. The Division of Wildlife Resources offers a $50 bounty for each coyote killed. This month, that bounty was increased to $100 in areas classified as crucial mule deer habitat.

Research suggests, however, that killing coyotes is not the answer.

“There was no evidence across our model or across other investigations that unregulated coyote hunting is a legitimate population control measure,” Green said.

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