![\"Angry](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.animals24-7.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picsart_25-02-15_22-20-05-232-e1739686867816.jpg?ssl=1\")
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<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n WASHINGTON D.C.\u2013\u2013<\/strong>Playing \u201cchicken\u201d with the rising risk of an H5N1 avian influenza pandemic spreading beyond six dozen farm workers to the general public,\u00a0 Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,\u00a0 hours after confirmation as the Donald Trump administration Secretary of Health & Human Services,\u00a0 dismantled the Epidemic Health Intelligence Service.<\/p>\n The 2017-2021 Donald Trump administration began with similar \u201cbudget cutting\u201d measures,\u00a0 contributing mightily to the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak that has now killed more than 1.2 million Americans,\u00a0 mostly during the first six months as the outbreak caught the U.S. unawares and unprepared.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Reported New Republic<\/em> associate writer Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling,\u00a0 \u201c<\/strong>Hours after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged that the Department of Health & Human Services would not undergo a staff purge, \u00a0it did.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump administration laid off half of its Epidemic Intelligence Service, \u00a0otherwise known as the \u2018Disease Detectives.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n NBC News reporter Lewis Kamb put the number of laid off personnel at 1,260,\u00a0 almost all of them \u201cprobationary\u201d staff within their first two years of civil service employment.<\/p>\n Frontline investigation of disease outbreaks is typically the first assignment of Centers for Disease Control & Prevention [CDC] staff before they move up the promotional ladder into leadership positions.<\/p>\n <\/a> Anne Schuchat, M.D.<\/strong><\/em> Anne Schuchat,\u00a0 a former rear admiral and assistant surgeon general in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps,\u00a0 who served as principal deputy director of the CDC before her retirement in May 2021,\u00a0 bluntly told CBS News,\u00a0 \u201cThe country is less safe.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the deployable assets critical for investigating new threats, from anthrax to Zika virus,\u201d\u00a0 Schuchat said.<\/p>\n The Epidemic Intelligence Service was crippled two days after the Oklahoma independent nonprofit news service Nondoc.com <\/em>disclosed the separate and unrelated arrests of two Texas men on cockfighting-related charges, \u00a0after 10 fighting gamecocks and cockfighting paraphernalia were found in their possession.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n The two cases,\u00a0 although those gamecocks are not believed to have been infected, \u00a0demonstrate the potential for gamefowl movements spreading disease.<\/p>\n The first of the two suspects, \u00a0J.C. Lewis Jr., \u00a060,\u00a0 of Elbert, \u00a0Texas, \u00a0was nabbed for speeding by National Park Service rangers on January 18,\u00a0 2025 in Murray County.<\/p>\n Charged in Murray County District Court with possessing and training birds for fighting,\u00a0 Lewis was jailed in lieu of posting $10,000 bond.<\/p>\n The second suspect,\u00a0 Khai Hong Nguyen, \u00a051, \u00a0of Grand Prairie, \u00a0Texas, \u00a0was stopped in Atoka County for driving with an inoperable passenger headlight.<\/p>\n <\/a> Former Atoka County sheriff Tony Head and District 19 Oklahoma State Representative Justin Humphrey.<\/strong><\/em> \u201cNguyen, who had active warrants in Texas for cockfighting and money laundering, \u00a0was charged in Atoka County District Court with possessing or training birds for fighting,\u201d\u00a0 Nondoc.com<\/em> said.\u00a0 \u201cHe posted a $15,000 bond, and a preliminary hearing conference is scheduled for March 15,\u00a0 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n Atoka County under former sheriff Tony Head was notorious for non-enforcement of the Oklahoma law against cockfighting.\u00a0 Head,\u00a0 however,\u00a0 was voted out of office in July 2024.<\/p>\n (See\u00a0Who told the Atoka County cockfighters the cops were coming?<\/a> and Pro-cockfighting sheriff loses election, anti-cockfighting sheriff loses coin flip<\/a>.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Atoka County member of the Oklahoma state legislature Justin Humphrey nonetheless is continuing a long campaign to decriminalize cockfighting,\u00a0 having recently introduced state house bills 1313 and 1326, \u00a0the former to reduce the Oklahoma penalty for cockfighting from a felony to a misdemeanor,\u00a0 and the latter to allow fights between gamefowl and robots.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cEvery weekend, \u00a0Saturday and Sunday, \u00a0there\u2019s a cockfight going on some place,\u201d \u00a0explained Kevin Chambers,\u00a0 Oklahoma state director for Animal Wellness Action,\u00a0 to Nondoc.com<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cAnd there are a lot of cockfighting pits in southern Oklahoma,\u201d\u00a0 many of which draw cockfighters and gamefowl from surrounding states,\u00a0 with each transport increasing the risk of disease transmission.<\/p>\n H5N1 and other high pathogenic avian influenzas typically arrive with wild migratory waterfowl along the Pacific,\u00a0 Rocky Mountains,\u00a0 Midwest,\u00a0 and Atlantic flyways.<\/p>\n Gamecocks,\u00a0 usually kept outdoors tethered to hutches within sight of each other to whet their fighting instincts,\u00a0 have astronomically more risk of contracting H5N1 and other avian influenzas from wild birds than commercially raised poultry,\u00a0 who are almost exclusively kept inside relatively bio-secure barns.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cMore than 300 dead wild birds have been discovered in five Lower Michigan counties, \u00a0and the virus is \u2018widespread\u2019 in wild flocks, \u00a0the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced on February 11,\u00a0 2025,\u201d\u00a0 reported Lucas Smolcic Larson for Michigan Live<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cPreliminary testing indicates the avian flu is to blame for the die-offs, and samples are being sent to a national lab for confirmation,\u201d\u00a0 Larson continued.<\/p>\n Acting to reduce risk of H5N1 spreading either among domestic flocks or to the public,\u00a0 New York governor Kathy Hochul on February 7,\u00a0 2025 \u201ctemporarily closed all live bird markets in New York City and Westchester, \u00a0Nassau and Suffolk counties through February 14,\u00a0 2025 after inspectors discovered seven cases of bird flu in poultry,\u201d\u00a0 reported Carma Hassan for CNN.<\/p>\n About 80 live markets were affected by the closure.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n New York State Health Commissioner James McDonald,\u00a0 M.D.,\u00a0 \u00a0told Hassan that \u201cThe state health department is using all the tools at its disposal to monitor for avian influenza in human beings, and we\u2019re prepared for widespread testing should the need arise.<\/p>\n \u201cThese cases in the live bird markets were detected on surveillance,\u201d\u00a0 McDonald emphasized.\u00a0 In other words, we went looking for the problem, \u00a0and this is what you do in public health. \u00a0We work together, and we look for problems.\u00a0 We\u2019re being vigilant about this because we really don\u2019t want to have people infected in New York state. \u00a0It\u2019s about protecting people.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n But it is about protecting animals,\u00a0 too.<\/p>\n Noted the New York City-based organization Voters for Animal Rights in an email to members,\u00a0 \u201cJust days after Governor Hochul temporarily shut down live animal markets due to bird flu outbreaks, \u00a0more than a dozen ducks and wild birds at Wildlife Conservation Society zoos, including the Bronx Zoo and Queens Zoo, tragically died from H5N1.<\/p>\n \u201cThese zoos, which confine thousands of animals\u2014including big cats highly susceptible to this deadly strain of avian influenza\u2014are now ground zero for the preventable spread of this devastating virus,\u201d\u00a0 Voters for Animal Rights reminded.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile closing live animal markets in NYC temporarily is a step in the right direction, \u00a0it is nowhere near enough. \u00a0For the sake of public health and the wellbeing of animals, \u00a0these markets must be shut down permanently,\u201d\u00a0 Voters for Animal Rights concluded.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Meanwhile back in ranching and gambling country,\u00a0 the Nevada state legislature and governor Joe Lombardo seized upon the soaring price of eggs, \u00a0resulting from culling 159 million hens since 2022 due to H5N1,\u00a0 as pretext for suspending the state law requiring that eggs sold within Nevada must come from cage-free flocks.<\/p>\n Observed the Associated Press reporting team of Josh Funk,\u00a0 Sejal Govindarao,\u00a0 and Ty Oneil,\u00a0 \u201cBy relaxing the rule, \u00a0Nevada might get access to additional eggs, \u00a0but the supply of all eggs remains tight.\u00a0 It is not clear that dropping cage-free laws will have a significant effect on egg prices.<\/p>\n \u201cUniversity of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said opening up Nevada to all kinds of eggs \u2018could ease egg prices in Nevada very slightly,\u2019 \u00a0but that it might make prices worse elsewhere because supplies are so tight.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cBut Nevada is going to give it a try,\u201d\u00a0 said Funk,\u00a0 Govindarao,\u00a0 and Oneil, \u00a0\u201ceven if California, \u00a0Massachusetts, \u00a0Washington, \u00a0Oregon, \u00a0Colorado and Michigan,\u201d\u00a0 all with similar laws on their books, \u00a0\u201cdon\u2019t seem to be considering it,\u201d\u00a0 for an obvious reason:\u00a0 producing eggs requires hens,\u00a0 and if the hen population is drastically decreased,\u00a0 rebuilding the flocks will take time,\u00a0 no matter how the hens are housed.<\/p>\n The gist of the matter is simply that Joe Lombardo and the Nevada legislature\u2013\u2013with the reported endorsement of the Humane Society of the U.S.\u2013\u2013just did a big favor for non-compliant factory egg farmers.<\/p>\n68 sick farmers,\u00a0 including one who died,\u00a0 may be the \u201csentinel chickens\u201d for the next pandemic,\u00a0 but Trump administration says,\u00a0 \u201cWhat,\u00a0 me worry?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nFired half the Epidemic Intelligence Service<\/h2>\n
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(Wikipedia photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n\u201cThe country is less safe\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nGamefowl movements spread disease<\/h2>\n
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(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\nBusted in Atoka County<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cEvery weekend there\u2019s a cockfight\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nH5N1 outbreaks in five Lower Michigan counties<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cDetected on surveillance\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nVoters For Animal Rights<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nNevada suspends cage-free law<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nHSUS reportedly endorses the suspension,\u00a0 then changes name<\/h2>\n