RFK Jr.'s Faulty Advice On Bird Flu

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By Kate Yandell
Posted on March 28, 2025

In recent news appearances, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested allowing bird flu to spread in poultry flocks unchecked. Scientists say that’s risky because it gives the virus more opportunities to replicate, increasing the chance it could change to spread easily among humans.

Avian influenza, or bird flu, has been spreading in U.S. dairy cows for more than a year now and has infected several dozen dairy workers. The virus also has infected flocks of chickens and other poultry in the U.S. since 2022, leading to the deaths of more than 168 million birds, infections in poultry workers and high egg prices ...

“If someone is going to say well, we should let the virus just go unchecked and follow RFK Jr.’s suggestion, we’re going to exacerbate the problem,” Dr. Maurice Pitesky, an associate professor at University of California, Davis, Veterinary Medicine Cooperative Extension, told us. “There’s no scenario where that is a good idea.”

“Why do we want to give the virus a leg up? Why do we want to give it an advantage and let it do its worst without being checked?” Ian Brown, group leader of avian virology at the Pirbright Institute in the U.K., asked us. “That doesn’t feel terribly logical” ...

https://www.factcheck.org/2025/03/rfk-jr-s-faulty-advice-on-bird-flu/

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1. bird flu is hitting NC's wild and domestic bird populations

Nearly 400 shorebirds, mostly brown pelicans, were found dead last month on a small island near Hatteras Inlet. The cause of death is suspected to be a highly contagious strain of bird flu.

Gareth McGrath
USA TODAY NETWORK

After receiving some worrying reports from boaters, officials with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission decided in early March to pay a visit to tiny Cora June Island near the mouth of Hatteras Inlet.

What they found on the sandy island that's managed as a bird sanctuary during the March-to-August nesting season were hundreds of dead shorebirds, mainly brown pelicans. While final testing to confirm the cause of death is still underway, all signs are pointing to the birds being struck down by highly pathogenic avian influenza, a strain of bird flu that's been ripping through wild and domestic bird populations for several years now ...

https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/local/2025/03/29/bird-flu-suspected-in-death-of-hundreds-of-pelicans-on-ncs-outer-banks/82539011007/

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2. Bird flu in domestic cats on the rise

In the United States, there have been more than 120 cases of bird flu in domestic cats.


https://www.wkrn.com/video/bird-flu-in-domestic-cats-on-the-rise/10582417/

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3. Raw frozen cat food recalled after testing positive for bird flu

[Hekate]

6. Domestic cats sleep with humans, & lick them, &c. Bird flu will cross the species barrier to humans shortly...

…if it has not already done so.

[Hekate]

4. Robby lies and people die

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5. Caution Urged To Mitigate Spread Of Bird Flu

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is urging caution for all who encounter sick and dead waterfowl.

A representative from the DEC Buffalo office stated that staff are aware of an “ongoing situation” in Western New York and statewide regarding sick and dead waterfowl. DEC officials urge the public to assume that birds found deceased could be positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, commonly referred to as bird flu.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bird flu is a “major threat to the poultry industry, animal health, trade, and the economy worldwide.” The disease varies in severity, as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strains are deadly to domestic poultry and can wipe out entire flocks within a matter of days.

Avian influenza viruses rarely infect humans, but the DEC is urging anyone in contact with sick or dead birds to take steps to limit the risk of potential exposure ...

https://www.post-journal.com/news/top-stories/2025/03/caution-urged-to-mitigate-spread-of-bird-flu/

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7. ODA Offers Updates on Avian Flu

The state of Ohio, including Auglaize County itself, has been hard at work attempting to contain Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) from spreading further into the state, with some success.

Several articles have been published in The Evening Leader/Wapakoneta Daily News during the past month or so after the first initial cases were reported in February. Since then, the situation has changed, with proclamations being made by the Ohio Department of Agriculture in order to keep the situation in check.

The proclamation, which was made on March 17 and will reportedly stay in effect until May 15 according to Agri.ohio.gov, is focused on preventing the spread of HPAI even further within the state.

“Therefore, I, Brian Baldridge, Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture for the State of Ohio, pursuant to OAC 901:1-21-02(B), do hereby prohibit the movement of all live birds,” said Baldridge in the said proclamation. This includes poultry, wild game birds and similar species, applied to all non-commercial poultry sites ...

https://www.wapakdailynews.com/news/oda-offers-updates-on-avian-flu/article_3ff6fddc-245d-48f9-bbd1-90bfe5725df7.html

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8. US turns to Brazil for eggs, considers imports from Turkey, South Korea

Tom Polansek, Leah Douglas and Anna Mano
Mon, March 24, 2025 at 10:14 AM EDT

The U.S. has almost doubled imports of Brazilian eggs once used only for pet food and is considering relaxing regulations for eggs laid by chickens raised for meat, as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to bring down sky-high prices spiked by bird flu.

While none of the Brazilian or broiler chicken eggs would wind up on grocery shelves, they could be used in processed foods such as cake mixes, ice cream or salad dressing, freeing up more fresh eggs for shoppers. Allowing the use of broiler chicken eggs would require changing regulations, and some food safety experts warned that this could risk tainting food products with harmful bacteria ...

https://www.aol.com/us-turns-brazil-eggs-considers-141424431.html

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9. ... Veterinary authorities from Turkey had reported to the World Organization on Animal Health

on March 5 an outbreak of H5N1 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza in Sarayduzu, Merkez affecting domestic birds ...

https://www.da.gov.ph/da-imposes-temporary-import-ban-from-turkey-due-to-bird-flu-outbreak/

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10. deadly bird flu jumps species AGAIN

Experts have issued a stark warning after the world's first case of bird flu in sheep was detected on the UK farm, triggering a Government alert.

The case was identified in Yorkshire during routine surveillance on a premises where avian influenza had been confirmed in captive birds.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs confirmed that the infected sheep has been 'humanely culled' to enable extensive testing ...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14530151/government-high-alert-bird-flu-warning-death-sheep.html

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11. Bird flu outbreak hits farm of 23,700 egg-laying hens in northern Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A commercial flock of 23,700 egg-laying hens in Kosciusko County has been quarantined following the detection of avian influenza, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health revealed Wednesday night.

As a result, control and surveillance zones cover parts of the northern Indiana county and extend into parts of adjacent Marshall and Fulton counties.

Across the state so far this year, avian flu has hit at least 26 poultry farms and small flocks affecting more than 8.3 million birds, according to a tally of flocks for 2025 on the state’s dashboard. Jay County in east central Indiana has had 11 farms affected.

At many of the farms in Indiana, the birds either died or were killed to prevent the spread of the virus known as H5N1. Species have included chickens, ducks and turkeys ...

https://www.wishtv.com/news/business/indiana-avian-influenza-quarantine-kosciusko-county/

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12. Commercial egg layers are seriously inbred

There is very little genetic diversity, so letting them get infected and hope a few are resistant is a fool's errand.