PAYNE COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – State officials say they are investigating the first case of avian influenza in Oklahoma’s wild bird population.
Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry say a wild duck in Payne County is the first wild bird in Oklahoma to be confirmed to be infected with Eurasian H5 type of highly pathogenic avian influenza.Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip gets married
“While Oklahoma has not seen HPAI in a backyard or commercial poultry flock this year, the finding of this single duck adds Oklahoma to a long list of states with confirmed cases of HPAI,” said Dr. Rod Hall, State Veterinarian for Oklahoma. “I encourage poultry owners of all kinds to continue to remain vigilant, practice good biosecurity and report sick or dying…
Chicks are seen at a poultry farm in Pruille-le-Chetif near Le Mans, France, March 4, 2020. Picture taken March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
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PARIS, March 31 (Reuters) – France is facing its worst bird flu crisis in history as a rare rebound in outbreaks of the highly contagious virus reached the country’s largest poultry producing regions with cullings topping more than 12 million birds.
The spread of bird flu has raised concern among governments and the poultry industry due to the ravages it can cause to flocks, potential trade restrictions and a risk of human transmission.
The virus, brought by wild birds migrating in the autumn, hit all countries in the 27-member European Union except Malta and Cyprus, with Italy suffering the most severe damage. Outbreaks had nearly ended in virtually all of them by the end of March, data from the Word Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) showed, as they usually do in spring.
Apart from France.
After a first wave led to the culling of around 4 million birds in the southwestern part of the country, France has been facing outbreaks believed to have been brought by wild birds on their way back, the first time this has happened in a significant way.
The H5N1 virus has spread rapidly in the Pays de la Loire region since last month and hit Brittany mid-March, further up the Atlantic coast. The two regions are France’s largest poultry producers.
By March 31, 12.1 million birds had been culled in France since the first outbreak on Nov. 26, the farm ministry told Reuters, making it the most severe bird flu crisis ever in the country. Some 1,112 outbreaks had been recorded in the country.
The United States is also facing its worst bird flu crisis since 2015 when nearly 50 million birds were killed. read more
The crisis comes as farmers are already facing soaring feed prices linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a key grain exporter, and supply-chain problems. Grains are the main ingredient used in poultry diets.
“This situation is dramatic for farmers and will lead to a reduction in slaughtering activity or even the temporary shutdown of certain sites,” France’s LDC (LOUP.PA), the EU’s largest poultry producer, said.
The company will virtually halt four slaughterhouses, producing 1.1 million poultry per week, for up to eight weeks, Gilles Huttepain, former LDC chairman and vice-chairman of French poultry lobby Anvol, said.
However, companies will compensate part of the volume by increasing output at other sites, he said.
Shoppers might find some poultry in short supply, like turkey due to the time it takes to rear, but supplies won’t be entirely wiped out, Huttepain said.
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Wisconsin officials confirm Thursday that a strain of avian flu has been identified in wild birds, including in the south central region of the state.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources revealed samples were collected from various birds, including a Cooper’s hawk and a bald eagle in Dane County. Officials also sampled a lesser scaup from Columbia County, a red-tailed hawk from Grant County, a Canada goose from Milwaukee County and a trumpeter swan from Polk County.
The DNR explained that the virus strain, EA H5N1, is highly pathogenic for poultry. Highly pathogenic means that the virus has a high potential to kill domestic birds such as chickens, turkeys and ducks.
The virus strain has caused disease in both domestic and wild birds in multiple states since…
More than 80% of Texas is now suffering from moderate or worsedrought, and that could have an impact on the spring turkey hunting season.
“We do have some pretty dry conditions out across a lot of the Rio Grande range, and those dry conditions, not seeing those weeds starting to grow up and not seeing those bluebonnet rosettes on the ground, tends to suggest that we’re going to have a later start to our reproductive activity,” Jason Hardin, wild turkey program leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said in aninterviewwith theTexas Farm Bureau Radio Network.
Plenty of gobblers are out chasing, but Hardin notes there is going to be a lot of hens that are not sitting on nests during the first part of the season because they’re not in the physical condition they need…
For the first time, researchers have spotted short-term, regional fluctuations in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) around the globe due to emissions from human activities.
Using a combination of NASA satellites and atmospheric modeling, the scientists performed a first-of-its-kind detection of human CO2emissions changes. The new study uses data from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) to measure drops in CO2emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic from space. With daily and monthly data products now available to the public, this opens new possibilities for tracking the collective effects of human activities on CO2concentrations in near real-time.
Previous studies investigated the effects of lockdowns early in the pandemic and found that global CO2levels dropped slightly in 2020. However, by combining OCO-2’s high-resolution data with modeling and data analysis tools from…
1of5FILE – This Feb. 20, 2019 file photo, shows a foothold trap intended for bobcats, set by licensed trapper Tom Fisher, on the outskirts of Tierra Amarilla, N.M. It will be illegal to use wildlife traps, snares and poison on public lands across New Mexico under a ban that takes effect Friday, April 1, 2022. New Mexico is joining a handful of Western states that limit trapping on public lands.Morgan Lee/AP
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It will be illegal to use wildlife traps, snares and poison on public lands across New Mexico under a ban that takes effect Friday.
New Mexico is joining a handful of Western states that have limited trapping on public lands, with supporters saying the move will help protect endangered species such as the Mexican gray wolf and prevent household pets from walking into…
UN atomic watchdog investigates claims Russian troops left after high doses of radiation. Plus, Trump may face court date thanks to reggae singer lawsuit.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it could not confirm the claims by the Ukrainian state power company Energoatom and was seeking an independent assessment. It will send its first “assistance and support mission” to Chernobyl, in northern Ukraine, in the next few days.
Energoatom said the Russians dug trenches in the forest inside the exclusion zone at the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, and that the troops “panicked at the first sign of illness” that “showed up very quickly” and began preparing to leave.
Meanwhile, Energoatom also said the Russian side had formally agreed to hand back to Ukraine the responsibility for protecting Chernobyl. It shared the scan of a document signed by people it identified as a senior staff member at Chernobyl and the Russian military official assigned to guarding Chernobyl.
What is Chernobyl? The plant is the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986. Staff continue to oversee the safe storage of spent nuclear fuel and supervise the concrete-encased remains of the reactor that exploded.
When did Russia take control of Chernobyl? Russian troops seized the nuclear plant soon after the 24 February invasion. There have been concerns over the past month about power cuts and fighting making staff shift rotations difficult.
What claims is the UN agency likely to investigate? Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk claimed Russian troops dug trenches in the forest and were exposed to radiation. Some reports suggest soldiers are being sent to a special medical facility in Belarus after driving tanks through the “dead zone” around the nuclear plant, kicking up radioactive dust. (These claims are unverified.)
Mariupol officials say Russians are blocking aid reaching besieged Ukraine city
People walk past a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
An aide to the mayor of Mariupol has said the besieged southern Ukrainian city remains closed for anyone trying to enter and is “very dangerous” for anyone trying to leave.
Petro Andryushchenko said Russian forces have been preventing even the smallest amount of humanitarian supplies reaching trapped residents.
A convoy of buses that set out for Mariupol did not reach the city, Ukrainian officials said last night. Russia had promised a limited ceasefire along the route from Mariupol to the Ukraine-held city of Zaporizhzhia.
Repeated efforts to set up humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of up to 170,000 people who remain in Mariupol, which has suffered four weeks of bombardment and dwindling supplies, have failed. Ukraine has accused Russian forces of shelling supposedly safe routes outside of several fighting hotspots, claims that Moscow denies.
Meanwhile, insiders in the UK intelligence agency are divided over GCHQ boss Jeremy Fleming’s strategy of leaking intelligence, my colleague Dan Sabbagh reports. Fleming revealed details such as Russian forces “accidentally shooting down their own aircraft”, sparking debate among spy insiders over the strategy.
Trump may face day in court thanks to lawsuit from reggae singer Eddy Grant
The Guyanese-British reggae musician Eddy Grant claims copyright infringement and seeks $300,000 in damages. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Bott/AP
The reggae singer Eddy Grant may succeed where the attorney general of New York state and other powerful figures have struggled – by forcing Donald Trump to answer questions under oath in a legal proceeding.
Grant sued the former president and his campaign over the use of his song Electric Avenue in an ad in 2020.
In the ad, Grant’s song plays over an animation of Joe Biden traveling slowly in a handcar, after a Trump campaign train passes at high speed. Remarks from Biden are also heard. Trump has failed to have the suit dismissed and claims it was fair use under a satire exemption.
Who is Eddy Grant? A 74-year-old Guyanese-British reggae musician. The song Electric Avenue was released in 1982.
How much is Grant seeking in damages? $300,000 for copyright infringement.
How many times has the video been viewed? More than 13.7m times, the lawsuit claims.
In other news …
Amazon Labor Union members Mitch Israel and Angelika Maldonado hug after gathering to watch the NLRB vote count to unionize Amazon workers in Brooklyn. Photograph: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters
A Palestinian baby has died after her treatment was delayed by Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Fatima al-Masri, a 19-month-old with a hole in her heart, waited five months for Israel to issue a permit allowing her to travel for medical treatment.
Amazon workers in New York are close to voting to form a union today. It represents a major win for labor activists who have failed in previous efforts to organize at the tech giant, which is the second largest private employer in the US. “Workers here have shown what is possible,” said one activist.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson has U-turned on his U-turn to ban LGBT conversion therapy. On Thursday, reports said Johnson intended to block planned legislation banning LGBT conversion therapy. But he backed down after a furious response and decided to move ahead to outlaw the practices.
H&M has pledged to end shopfloor sexual violence in India after a garment worker was murdered by her supervisor. The company signed a legally binding agreement with a major Indian clothing supplier. Last January, Jeyasre Kathiravel was found dead after her shift, with her supervisor reportedly confessing to the murder and awaiting trail.
LA police offered to arrest actor Will Smith for slapping presenter Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, the ceremony producer Will Packer said. But authorities took no action because Rock declined to press charges.
Stat of the day: more than 9,500 Indigenous people listed missing in 2021
Meskee Yatsayte of Gallup (left), and Vangie Randall-Shorty of Farmington hold signs to bring awareness to missing and murdered Native Americans in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on 11 October 2021. Photograph: Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal/Albuquerque Journal/ZUMA/REX/Shutterstock
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In 2021, the National Crime Information Center listed more than 9,500 Indigenous people as missing, with 1,554 of those cases still active by the end of the year. One year after the Department of the Interior announced it was launching a new investigative unit to prioritize the crisis of missing and murdered Native Americans, at least nine Indigenous families have watched jurisdictional issues and miscommunication hamper efforts by the unit to investigate their relatives’ cases, or been met with months of silence.
Don’t miss this: ‘I’ve hugged 500,000 people around the world’
David Sylvester high-fives a passerby in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he lives. Photograph: Kyle Kielinski/Kyle & Linette Kielinski
“I carry a clicker to count the number of people I’ve hugged – my record is 1,300 in a day, at a retail convention in Las Vegas – and choose cities where I hope I’ll be welcomed,” says David Sylvester. “On 12 September 2001, I learned that one of my closest childhood friends had died in the World Trade Center. The grief was so awful, I was determined to channel it into something with purpose.”
Climate check: Global UN-affiliated seabed regulator accused of ‘reckless’ failings over deep-sea mining
Caleb Linck holds an external scope camera displaying the image from his stepson Jade Harlow’s rifle sights. Harlow is blind, and Linck serves as his hunting companion, using the external display to guide Harlow to his target. (Courtesy of Rebecca Linck)
BOISE – Crouched in the bed of his stepdad’s truck, Jade Harlow steadied himself, waiting for the right moment to take his shot. Caleb Linck, Harlow’s stepdad, was beside him watching on a 5-inch screen as the crosshairs of Harlow’s rifle hovered over a white-tailed doe.
“Fire,” Linck whispered. A split-second later, a gunshot cracked through the silence. “We got her,” Linck said.
It was Harlow’s first time hunting since he was blinded in a firearm accident in 2018, and the 16-year-old beamed with excitement and pride. His mother, Rebecca Linck, recorded the entire experience…
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa police arrested Dejuan Ratliffe early Thursday morning after they say he was found carrying two hunting-style rifles near Tulsa International Airport (TIA).
Lieutenant Jamie Kirby tells us Ratliffe was involved in a car crash on Highway 11 near the Airport Terminal exit before he was found carrying the two rifles.
While heading to the crash, officers reportedly got another call about a man carrying two weapons near the airport.
Kirby says they used the TPD helicopter to track Ratliffe down. When they found him, Kirby says he appeared to be “pretty intoxicated.”
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