Dairy farmers are hiding likely bird flu cases from government officials, coping with the virus’s symptoms in their herds while avoiding testing, one dairy industry representative told NOTUS.
Already distrustful of government, worried about economic and reputational damage and increasingly skeptical of public health officials following the COVID-19 pandemic, many farmers see no reason to test their cattle or engage with federal officials, Rick Naerebout, the CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, said. “Nationwide, the vast majority of cases are not reported,” Naerebout said. “Dairymen understand they have it based on the symptoms, but they don’t get a confirmation. They’re just managing through the disease.”
Cattle have tested positive in 42 herds as of May 10, but the actual number of affected herds is unknown. The USDA now requires a negative test for cattle to move across state lines, but no federal agency can mandate testing on the farms or go onto the farms without permission from the owners. Government requests to test farmers’ cows have mostly been ignored.
“You have to understand how they approach the world. They take on so much risk every day with what they do in their operation,” Naerebout said. “They are very reluctant on this issue or any other issue to have the government involved.”
Naerebout is in regular conversation with farmers whose cows are exhibiting symptoms across the state, and those farmers are choosing not to test their cows because a positive test would alert regulators, he said.
More than a dozen farmers and industry groups did not respond to NOTUS’ phone calls. The mistrust, stemming from a desire to protect business and a fiercely independent culture, has become increasingly partisan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One raw milk dairy farmer in Texas told NOTUS they had never heard of the bird flu. “You must be listening to CNN or something. Fake news,” they said.
MAGA is a death cult. These people are going to get us all killed.
I don’t know if this bird flu outbreak is going to be the next frightening virus but something is. And these people have been trained to believe that they cannot trust scientists and should only believe Donald Trump and whatever right wing media they are sampling on a given day. It’s going to cause huge problems down the road. God help us when the next pandemic hits. And it will…