MALHEUR COUNTY — It’s not likely that poultry will be included among animal projects at the Malheur County Fair this year unless a temporary administrative order is lifted before then.

Bobbi Howell with OSU Extension in Malheur County confirmed that they are currently checking with state officials after learning of a regional quarantine due to avian flu. At this point, however, there are no regulations on poultry at the fair.

The quarantine is effective from May 23 to Nov. 18, and fairs throughout the region all fall within that time frame.

Members of a local 4-H group, the Cloverbuds, exclusively raise poultry and rabbits. If rabbits are excluded from fairs this year, all they will be able to show is their rabbits. It would be a big deal for them, Howell said, noting that the youth didn’t get to participate in the fair in 2021 due to COVID-19.

Extension officials are waiting for the official word from the state veterinarian before telling people how it might impact them locally.

Howell says they will likely refer people to the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s website for more information about the situation.

ODA issued a news release today stating that Malheur County is now part of a regional quarantine due to the highly pathogenic avian flu being discovered nearby.

A Temporary Administrative Order issued by the Oregon Secretary of State is effective from May 23 to Nov. 18, and “will prevent the movement of poultry from within this quarantine area” during that time to enable state and federal officials to conduct surveillance to ensure no additional cases exist.

Any poultry confirmed to have HPAI must be euthanized.

According to ODA, the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory on Monday confirmed the case of HPAI on Monday Idaho along the Oregon border.

ODA provides an online map of HPAI outbreak and quarantine areas in Oregon. That map is available online. People may enter their address to determine whether they are included in the quarantine area. Once a case is confirmed, federal and international disease control requirements spur a quarantine for all avian species and vehicles involved with them in any way. The quarantine must extend for a minimum of about 6.2 miles around an infected property.

More information is available online about HPAI, both in English and Spanish.