Devastating Bird Flu Outbreak Forces Euthanasia of 100,000 Ducks in Long Island Farm

Race Day Live (Suffolk County, NY) – A bird flu outbreak is severely affecting the largest and only remaining commercial duck farm in Suffolk County.

An outbreak of H5N1 at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue has led to the suspension of operations and the decision to euthanize the entire flock of over 100,000 ducks.

The confirmation of the outbreak occurred on January 17.

“Unfortunately, when you have a situation like this where you have a flock that’s infected, the remedy is to put the entire flock down,” said Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott.

Even with the chaos it is causing on the farm, health officials assert that the likelihood of the public falling ill remains low.

“Yes, we’ve seen sporadic cases, but even in those sporadic cases, it hasn’t gone to the rest of their families, to the rest of their contacts, so it’s really not getting into our human hosts,” said Dr. Sharon Nachman with Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

Crescent Duck Farm, a family-owned establishment, has been serving the Suffolk County community since 1908. For Doug Corwin, this marks the end of a journey dedicated to his life’s passion.

A farm previously featured in a 2019 report has faced new challenges since the onset of the COVID pandemic, raising concerns about the potential implications of bird flu and its ability to spark another health crisis.

The process of euthanizing all those ducks is expected to take approximately one week.

“And if this disease mutates like in a factory farm to infect workers, to infect humans, to get human-to-human transmission, we’re looking at the next pandemic,” said John Di Leonardo with Humane Long Island.

Health officials are emphasizing that, to date, there has been no transmission between individuals, yet precautions are still being implemented in Aquebogue.

“We’re gonna test them for H5N1, and we’re also gonna offer what they call prophylactic measures, in this case Tamiflu and Tamivir,” Pigott said.

Since 2022, wild birds and poultry in New York have tested positive for avian influenza.

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