Archive | June 1, 2015
2 MILLION birds to be killed due to avian flu in Minnesota, USA
The bird flu has struck another Rembrandt Enterprises farm, marking the state’s single largest outbreak of the deadly virus. Two million egg-laying chickens will be destroyed over the next four weeks at the company’s Renville operation, officials said Saturday.
One barn holding around 200,000 birds was infected, but the entire flock will be killed as a precaution.
Chickens at the farm have tested “presumptive positive” for the disease “despite the herculean efforts of Rembrandt’s employees to keep our facilities virus-fee,” said Jonathan Spurway, the company’s vice president of marketing.
Rembrandt Enterprises, one of the nation’s largest egg producers, suffered an outbreak in its Rembrandt, Iowa, facility May 1, contaminating one barn housing about 250,000 hens. Its third plant, in Thompson, Iowa, has not been affected.
“We’re doing everything we possibly can [to protect flocks], and we don’t know of anyone who’s doing anything we’re not already doing,” Spurway said. “The industry is lost for words.”
Spurway said it’s too early to tell if the outbreak will affect staffing at the farm.
Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor owns Rembrandt, as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.
As of Friday, the number of afflicted Minnesota farms had risen to 88, affecting 21 different counties, according to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.
The agency announced Friday the cancellation of all exhibits featuring birds at the Minnesota State Fair this year to stem the spread of the H5N2 virus.
The directive also prohibits exhibitions at county fairs, swap meets, petting zoos and sales.
The ultimate source of the bird flu is believed to be wild waterfowl, but health experts are puzzled as to how exactly it’s creeping into enclosed barns.
While it is deadly to poultry, the bird flu poses a low risk to human health.
Courtesy of startribune.com
Thousands of dead fish found in a lake in Sakha Republic, Russia
The fish – believed to be carp and grouper – were seen dead en mass on 14 May. Picture: local residents
Shocked locals have posted pictures of the dead fish amid suspicions they were killed by explosions as officials melted winter ice to prevent flooding.
The disturbing scene was at Lake Khatyng, in the Sakha Republic, the coldest region in Russia. The fish – believed to be carp and grouper – were seen dead en mass on 14 May.
Locals in Tulagino village blamed the dynamiting of local rivers to prevent ice causing dams on rivers, so leading to flooding of villages. But representatives of the Ministry of Emergencies in the republic, also known as Yakutia, denied being responsible for the dead fish.
A spokesperson said: ‘On 13 May we did blow up the ice, but the work was near the village of Namtsy, almost 100 km from Tulagino. Even if we assume that fish died because of the explosion, it is unlikely that they were carried such a distance.’
The Emergencies Ministry even expressed doubts about the authenticity of the pictures.
Village official Anna Neustroyeva said: ‘The photos are real. Yesterday, on the surface of the lake, there were a large number of dead fish.’
She claimed the likely cause was not explosions but ‘a lack of oxygen’ under the winter ice, with temperatures having fallen to minus 50C during the winter.
While fish survive under annual harsh conditions, it seems that this year the frost was so strong that there were no breaks in the ice, depriving them of oxygen. Head of the regional nature protection inspectorate Kirill Alchin also supported this theory.
None of the dead fish showed signs physical damage which can occur among those close to river explosions. But experts say that river explosions mainly cause internal damage to the fish.
Others have demanded tests for poisoning in the lake. The water need to be checked,’ said one. ‘There can be pollution. They need to check the water.’
Courtesy of siberiantimes.com
Hundreds of dead fish found in a canal in Aiea, Hawaii, USA
The death of hundreds of fish in Aiea has sparked a health department investigation.
Officials gave KHON2 new information after a viewer alerted us to the problem through the Report It feature on our website.
Health officials say they found more than 500 dead fish along a canal by a bike path.
“The species that we found. Some were native. But primarily guppies and talapia,” said environmentalist Carroll Cox.
Water testing confirmed the presence of a solvent or cleaning solution in the canal.
So now officials are working to find out who is responsible by checking storm drains and talking to nearby businesses.
Courtesy of khon2.com
Mass die off of fish washes ashore in Canakkale, Turkey
Canakkale ‘s bell township Büyükpaş hit the village at the edge of the shore after the mass fish deaths occurred in the hundreds of fish started to smell Kocabas tea with the effect of heat.
Bell township Büyükpaş village on the edge of passing Karabiga the sea spilled Kocabas tea return to red in color with the waste in mass fish deaths occurred in previous days, pike, carp and yellowfin species of fish are still hitting the shore along the 15 kilometers of tea from Etili Katrandere. Kocabas remaining plugged in Büyükpaş village bridge protection set on the tea 1 meter in the dead pike Agriculture Tayhan of the villagers said the smell began, “In 2007, the waters of the Kocabas tea was dead blue, turning the fish. We could not open our windows the smell of dead fish for a month. 5 days Today before continuing to shoot dead fish ashore in flowing red color Kocabas tea. Dead fish began to smell the warm weather, “he said.
Courtesy of milliyet.com.tr
Hundreds of dead fish found floating in a river in Macao, Portugal
An episode that the president of the authority attributed to factors linked to pollution and low river flow.
Hundreds of dead fish were on Tuesday removed the Tagus, near the dam Belver / Ortiga in Macau municipality, an episode that the president of the authority attributed to factors linked to pollution and low river flow.
“This episode is not punctual, we have received on a recurring basis complaints from residents about odors from the Tagus river water, in addition to the weak flow and its evil aspect, brownish in color and with plenty of foam,” he told the Lusa agency President of the Macau Chamber, Vasco Star (PSD).
This morning, the local authorities were alerted to “hundreds of dead fish on the banks of the river and retained in the grids Dam (that prevent debris from falling into the turbines that generate electricity).”
“The problem did not occur in our territory. The pollution source is upstream and the dead fish came with the flow, to stop here, “he materialized.
Contacted by Lusa, Francisco Pinto, fisherman for 47 years, residing in Ortiga he said the dead fish “were the hundreds”, noting that “many were still trying to breathe, afloat,” but without achieving the necessary oxygen.
“There were dead fish with more than three kilos,” he said, noting that the number of affected fish is yet to ascertain.
According to Vasco Star, “this, as is, can not continue” because “it’s all a riverside heritage, a strategic river in terms of regional development and affirmation of a historical identity and heritage that is concerned.”
“We will make a presentation to the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) for which realizes what is happening, in order to identify the pollution sources, and to finding a solution so that this does not become to succeed,” he stressed.
Dead fish were removed by employees of the EDP, that operate on Dam Ortiga / Belver, who, with the help of a backhoe, opened trenches and buried them.
Courtesy of ionline.pt
Thousands of fish dead from disease in Cayuga Lake, New York, USA
A fungal infection is suspected to have caused the deaths of thousands of goby fish in Cayuga Lake since April, an official said.
The fungus is not dangerous to humans and angler fish caught in the lake are still safe to eat, the official said.
The thousands of dead fish are a small percentage of all the gobies found in Cayuga Lake. But the DEC is recommending that people not swim by large amounts of dead fish on the lake because of bacterial colonies associated with the decomposition, said Peter Constantakes, a spokesperson with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in an interview on Thursday.
Pets should also not drink lake water because of the new problem, Constantakes said.
“DEC continues to monitor the situation,” he said.
The extended winter might have caused the the fish’s immune system to weaken, making them more susceptible to the fungus, Constantakes said.
Constantakes said the DEC noticed the dead fish in April and sent some to Cornell University for testing. Since then, he said, the pace at which fish are dying has decreased.
Constantakes said the dead gobies do not pose long-term health risks on the lake because they will decompose naturally or be eaten by scavengers.
Some dead sunfish have also been found near the northern part of the lake. Their deaths are linked to spring die-offs, which have been common in the area for the past decade, Constantakes said.
Courtesy of ithacavoice.com
Huge tornado wreaks havoc in North East China
Huge tornado wreaks havoc
in North East China
According to local reports the full damage remains unclear but the weather has destroyed several buildings
VERY POWERFUL INFLUX OF ENERGY WILL STRIKE THE MAGNETOSPHERE FROM THE 2nd – 7th JUNE 2015
**VERY URGENT**
VERY POWERFUL INFLUX OF ENERGY WILL STRIKE THE MAGNETOSPHERE FROM THE 2nd – 7th JUNE 2015. FURTHER EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANO ACTIVITY AND ADVERSE WEATHER WILL BE GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE COSMIC RAYS STRIKING THE EARTH’S CORE
**BE ALERT**
YELLOWSTONE REGION MAGNITUDE 2.2 UTAH, USA
http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Quakes/uu60112627.html
Subject To Change
Depth: 0.2 km
Distances: Circleville, UT – 15 km (9 miles) SW (223 degrees)
Junction, UT – 24 km (15 miles) SW (219 degrees)
Kingston, UT – 24 km (15 miles) SW (230 degrees)
Panguitch, UT – 28 km (17 miles) N (8 degrees)
Caliente, NV – 193 km (120 miles) ENE (74 degrees)
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