Update (March 23): DEC Public Information Officer Lori Severino tells The Ithaca Voice that of the 6,600 pheasants housed at the Reynolds Game Farm in Ithaca, “at least” 500 of them have died just in the last three days as of Wednesday evening. Severino added that the number is still increasing as of Thursday morning.
There have been two positive cases of avian flu found on Cornell’s campus recently, according to Krysten Schuler, an assistant research professor in public and ecosystem health, in a skunk and a Canadian goose. Both were wild and not part of Cornell’s animal population.
Original story (March 22):
ITHACA, N.Y.—According to a memo distributed by the Department of Environmental Conservation, the bird population at the Reynolds Game Farm in Ithaca is currently under investigation for a possible Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak.
The memo states that there was an investigation initiated on March 20 after “suspicious deaths” were detected. The Reynolds Game Farm is a facility owned and operated by the DEC’s Bureau of Wildlife to supply pheasants for legal hunting across New York State, located on Game Farm Road in eastern Ithaca near the East Ithaca Recreation Way. It is the only pheasant propagation facility in the state.
“Initial test results indicate a possible outbreak of the H5N1 avian influenza virus,” stated the memo. “DEC is working closely with animal health experts at the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory to determine next steps at the farm.”
If an outbreak is confirmed, this would be the 14th known outbreak of bird flu in New York State in 2022-2023, according to this USDA map. There have already been just over 10,000 birds impacted by the outbreak overall in the state, though that means the birds were present on a premises where an infection was confirmed, not that they were actually infected.