'So far so good': Saskatchewan poultry not overly impacted by Avian flu

The Avian flu is not having a major impact on Saskatchewan poultry producers as of yet, according to Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan.

"It's nothing right now that's affecting the supply chain at all," said Graham Snell, the executive director of Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan, adding that it is very unlikely the disease would get to a point where it would be affecting grocery stores and restaurants.

"That would be an extreme, extreme case. The way supply management is set up, which is an incredible system, is so that doesn't happen," Snell said. "It's not to say that it couldn't happen. But I honestly can't see how that would happen."

The disease originates in migrating birds. It's been popping up across Canada, including in Saskatchewan. Snell said the role of his organization is to remind the province's farmers of best practices to follow to minimize the effect that H5N1 can have.

"The rules are pretty stringent and strict already, so we're just asking the farmers to just kind of beef up...no extra visitors to the farm if they don't need to be, washing vehicles as they come in and out, tracking who comes on, monitor the birdhouses and if they see anything out of the ordinary, call a vet right away," Snell said.

Snell noted that the last time the sickness surfaced in Saskatchewan was several years ago. He said his team has been monitoring it closely this time around.

"When it started down east of course we were watching it kind of track across Canada, as well as coming in from the United States, so we've been on top of it, we've had multiple meetings," Snell said. "We've been sort of planning for if it was to hit our province."

"So far so good. Luckily so far it has not got into a significant operation as of yet, and we hope it doesn't."

Snell added that the risk to humans is extremely low.