'We're a sanctuary': Rescue farm says it faces backlash after choosing to quarantine, not cull, sick chickens

The owners of a Manitoba rescue farm say they're facing a backlash from other farmers for deciding to quarantine their chicken flock after an outbreak of a contagious and fatal disease — instead of culling the birds.

"Some of the [commercial] farmers have called us agro-terrorists, like we're doing this to destroy the industry," said Karl Schoenrock, who runs Kismet Creek Farm alongside his wife, Raelle Schoenrock.

"The backlash is just shocking."

But culling the flock wasn't an option the owners of the farm, who take in sick and injured animals to cure and rehabilitate them, wanted to pursue.

Karl Schoenrock told CBC News that earlier this year, they noticed a few previously rescued chickens at their farm south of Steinbach, Man., were acting strangely, wheezing and coughing.

When one of the rescue birds died, it was sent off for an autopsy to discover the cause of death.

The post-mortem examination revealed the animal had infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) — a severe and highly contagious viral herpes infection that affects chickens and pheasants.

Self-imposed quarantine

After discovering the deadly infection, Schoenrock said his entire flock was isolated to a fenced-in pen under a self-imposed quarantine, to keep anyone from interacting with the diseased birds until a provincial veterinarian could visit the farm.

A poultry specialist sent to investigate their farm informed them of two options, Schoenrock said — to cull or quarantine the birds for the rest of their lives.

They opted for the quarantine.

"We're a sanctuary," Schoenrock said. "Even if our birds are sick, if they get over their sickness, and carry a disease but don't affect anything else around them, and are living great lives, then why should we have to kill them all?"

Schoenrock said even if a rescue animal's health does not improve, "we let them live their entire lives" on the farm.

The pen still holds about three dozen chickens, as well as a few turkeys and ducks, all of which are possible carriers of the disease.

So far, 14 birds have shown signs of illness, and three of the farm's birds have died as a result of the disease.

Schoenrock said he does not know where the disease came from or how the chickens became ill.

The farmers believe the infected poultry came from another local feeder farm, but Schoenrock did not say which one.

ILT is spread primarily through direct contact between poultry, "especially when small numbers of birds are frequently traded between flocks," according to a provincial website.

It's not unusual to find a couple of cases of ILT in Manitoba each year, the province's website says. It is a reportable disease in the province, which means all suspected cases have to be disclosed.

Chief vet notified

Manitoba's agriculture department said in an email that its chief veterinary office was initially notified about an infection on May 29.

A private veterinarian under the guidance of the province's office visited the site the following day and again on June 6, to investigate and "ensure the owners had put in place a voluntary quarantine," the department said in an email.

"The particular management of the flock created ongoing long-term risks that could not be addressed by the regulatory requirements used for depopulation. A long-term quarantine was considered the better option to address the risks."

The province has declared the premises "an infected place" and advised the farm owners to follow special measures to address associated risks, the department said.

The chief veterinary office said it will continue to followup with the rescue farm and confirm the necessary precautionary requirements are in place.

Schoenrock said he received a multi-page document with special measures to comply with — or else the entire flock would be killed.

Prevent transmission

He said Kismet Creek Farm had to increase the height of the fence around their flock and add a secondary perimeter fence in order to keep other animals away from the bird feces and other sheddings, which could threaten other birds.

Only three people are authorized to tend to the birds, Schoenrock said. All clothing must be changed after going in and out of the quarantined pen.

When entering the farm, all vehicles and the soles of peoples' shoes are sprayed down to prevent external contagion from being tracked in.

The farm also includes a petting zoo, and the Schoenrocks say they've lost business as they temporarily closed the zoo following the outbreak.

CBC News reached out to some farmers in the area.

One producer was unaware of the disease outbreak. Another said they were uncertain about the incident in question, but had no poultry on the farm to be concerned about.

No one from the Manitoba Chicken Producers, a farmer-run organization that represents local egg and poultry farmers, was available for comment.

Schoenrock suggested the onus is on local producers to prevent the transfer of disease. He said there is no assistance available to hobby farmers to help control the disease.

Commercial producers, he said, should be "supporting us and promoting our [newly established] biosecurity measures that every little hobby farm should be instilling."