Another in a spate of avian influenza outbreaks was confirmed yesterday at a commercial poultry farm with operations in Maricopa, prompting state and federal agencies to try to contain the highly contagious disease to protect the public food supply. 

Meanwhile, watchdogs warn that the outbreak could result in an eight-digit dollar impact on taxpayers.

The Arizona Department of Agriculture announced that chickens at a Maricopa County facility tested positive for the virus, commonly known as bird flu, after “showing clinical signs of illness” May 21. Medical confirmation from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory came yesterday, said AZDA public information officer Rachel Andrews. 

In a press release about the outbreak yesterday, Andrews emphasized that no eggs from infected birds had entered the food supply and that no human illnesses had been reported. The AZDA, in coordination with the USDA and local health agencies, has implemented a quarantine and is overseeing virus elimination protocols at the affected site. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the risk to the public remains low, though people with direct exposure to infected birds are at higher risk. Enhanced biosecurity and sanitation measures are in place. 

Animal Outlook, the national animal rights group, said the outbreak resulted in the death of 2.3 million birds, although Hickman’s did not confirm that number. After a recent change to USDA compensation for culled birds rose to $16.94, more than double what it was, the group said Hickman’s can expect to receive $38 million in taxpayer funds. 

“This devastating outbreak at Hickman’s represents everything wrong with industrial animal agriculture,” Ben Williamson, executive director of Animal Outlook, said yesterday. “Taxpayers are essentially subsidizing this broken system through increased federal indemnity payments.” 

The animal rights group takes issue with the use of “ventilation shutdown,” a culling method it likens to baking the birds alive. Livestock is suffocated by sealing off barns, shutting down ventilation and adding heat. The ASPCA called for an end to the practice in 2020. 

Video footage released by Animal Outlook allegedly shows dead birds being loaded into trucks at the company’s Tonopah facility, about 20 miles west of Buckeye, with workers not appearing to wear full protective gear, although this could not be independently verified.  

Hickman’s Family Farms owner Glenn Hickman did not respond to requests for comment by publication time. However, after the company lost 1.1 million chickens in two other outbreaks, Hickman told InMaricopa in February that the loss was “a tragedy for us.” 

“There are simply not enough eggs to get to everybody,” Hickman said. 

As of April, the USDA has reported outbreaks in all 50 states, affecting more than 58 million birds. This marks the largest animal health emergency in U.S. history, with Iowa, Minnesota and California the hit hardest. Mass culling, meant to limit the spread of bird flu, has led to major economic losses in the poultry sector, including a sharp increase in egg prices.