Who doesn’t love chicken; there’s chicken soup, fried chicken, eggs and so much more. Yet with upwards of seven cases of the bird flu in New York many live poultry shops there were forced to temporarily shut down. This has brought uproar to many New Yorkers. These live poultry shops carry more than just chickens; Some with ducks, swans, turkeys, cows, pigs and more. With these markets being forced into a temporary shut down by New York’s governor many New Yorkers are left in an uproar.
On Feb. 7, 2025 New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, issued a temporary shutdown of all live poultry markets within the state. This shut down required every Live-Poultry shop in New York to be thoroughly disinfected after the rise of diseases were discovered by health inspectors. “Over the last week, inspectors have detected seven cases of bird flu in poultry during a routine visit to live bird markers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens (USA Today).” This ban is “precautionary” and should last into Feb. 14, 2025. The New York City Department of Agriculture is working closely with these shops to educate and assist those infected and even those not affected by these diseases.
Though actively doing their best many citizens of New York are in an uproar; As these shops carry more than just chickens. These shops which can carry anywhere from chickens and ducks to cows and sheep are leaving citizens without the ability to purchase freshly slaughtered meat.
The shops are also losing more than an entire week of profits by having this shut down. With “More than 156 million birds nationwide have been affected by the outbreak, many at large farming operations that have had to slaughter their entire flocks (AP News).” These farmers are being forced to lose much of their livelihood to these illnesses.
Many recent consumers are even more worried that they purchased “sickly chickens.” While claims that these avian flus place little effect to consumers, “there have been 67 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in the U.S., with illnesses mild and mostly detected among farmworkers who were exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows.” What does this mean for New Yorkers and what’s next?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bird-avian-flu-new-york-poultry-markets-ordered-close-temporarily-rcna191386
https://apnews.com/article/new-york-bird-flu-poultry-94186c5c964d1a620858068142a28c46
https://nypost.com/2025/02/09/us-news/activists-accuse-nyc-shops-of-selling-sickly-chickens-in-scramble-before-bird-flu-shutdown/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/07/bird-flu-nyc-shuts-down-poultry-markets/78326359007/
https://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/temporary-eo-shuts-down-live-bird-stores/article_f299a5e8-4e81-5288-ab43-1fb38dcdc947.html
