ATLANTA (August 30, 2022) | Sen. Emanuel Jones (D –Decatur) released the following statement on the recent developments unfolding in Henry County, GA regarding the avian influenza outbreak.
“I am profoundly disappointed to learn of the euthanasia of so many of these beloved birds at the sanctuary. While I understand that this step was necessary to control the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) on the premises, my heart goes out to the animals and staff at Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary during these difficult times,” said Sen. Jones. “The Henry County Delegation is working alongside the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to develop safer more effective ways to help Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary return to its full capacity as soon as possible to ensure that tragedies like this will not happen again.”
On August 26, 2022, reports confirmed that nearly 100 birds (including peacocks, owls, ostrich, chickens, turkey and geese) were humanely euthanized in an attempt to combat HPAI that was detected last week in Henry County. GDA states that this is the second confirmation of HPAI in Georgia since early June of 2022. Avian influenza does not pose a serious risk to food supply in Georgia and the risk of human infection remains low. For additional information regarding GDA’s response efforts, you can read their statement on the outbreak here and watch Commissioner Gary Black’s summary statement video here.
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Sen. Emanuel Jones represents the 10th Senate District, which includes portions of DeKalb and Henry counties. He may be reached at 404.656.0502 or by email at emanuel.jones@senate.ga.gov