030133 Poultry Disease Dooms Calif. ChickensJanuary 18, 2003Los Angeles, CA - More than 400,000 chickens at a San Bernardino County commercial farm were ordered destroyed after testing positive for a disease that has forced the quarantine of Southern California's poultry. It was the fifth commercial chicken farm hit by Exotic Newcastle Disease, which is a threat to the state's $3 billion industry and forced the slaughter of more than 1.7 million chickens since it was discovered in September. The farm, which was not identified, was near backyard flocks that were infected with the disease, said Larry Cooper, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The quarantine prohibits the movement of all poultry, poultry products and nesting materials in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties. California is the nation's third-largest egg producer. More than 9 million of the state's 12 million egg- laying hens are in the quarantine zone.
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