There won’t be any chickens or turkeys at the Santa Barbara County Fair this summer, and the kids who typically show those animals will likely be absent, too.
The Santa Maria Fairpark board of directors voted on Feb. 19 to cancel the poultry shows scheduled for this year’s fair. The decision, which was based on a state recommendation, impacts the turkey and chicken meat pen competitions, as well as all breeding competitions.
A number of other county fairs and poultry organizations in Southern California are also following the recommendation, a safety precaution to prevent further spread of Newcastle disease, a highly contagious respiratory disease that’s almost always fatal in poultry, which spreads quickly and can be contracted by humans, causing flulike symptoms.
Although no Newcastle cases have been reported in Santa Barbara County, the disease has become a major problem for backyard flocks and commercial poultry operations in Southern California within the past few months, according to a Santa Maria Fairpark press release. The current outbreak started in May 2018, and more than 60,000 birds have been euthanized to date as a result.
“The youth livestock program has always been at the heart of the Santa Barbara County Fair,” Santa Maria Fairpark CEO Richard Persons wrote in the release. “But in light of the outbreak and the recommendation of the state veterinarian, we felt it prudent to do our part to protect poultry production on the Central Coast.”
This isn’t the first time a Newcastle outbreak has caused poultry show cancellations in Santa Barbara County, according to Trudy Shank, leader of the Cinco Campanas 4-H Club in Santa Maria.
“I could see the writing on the wall,” Shank said, adding that she warned the kids in her club of the possible cancellation and had them prepare to show in other competitions.
Shank’s daughter was involved in 4-H in 2003, the last time Shank remembers poultry shows being canceled locally. That year, Shank said, the Fairpark had kids craft turkeys and chickens—her daughter made one out of Styrofoam and fake feathers—to put on display at the fair. Kids then toured the displays and were still able to learn about the birds.
Shank said it’s still too early to tell if the Fairpark will have kids do that kind of project again, but she said many of her 12 poultry members who planned to show turkeys have already signed on to show rabbits this year instead.
Rabbit and beef are the only competitions at the Santa Barbara County Fair without limitations on how many kids can participate, according to Amber Rappozo, leader of Santa Maria’s La Graciosa 4-H Club. The Santa Maria Fairpark can only hold so many animals, and Rappozo said most competitions with limitations fill up quickly.
So while some of Rappozo’s 15 club members who planned to show poultry already have larger livestock animals they’ll be showing instead, those who typically compete with just poultry can only default to rabbit or beef competitions. Either that, she said, or they’ll have to hope for better luck next year.
That’s the situation for Rappozo’s 13-year-old son, whose only market is poultry. He typically uses the money he makes selling his turkey at the fair to pay for housing for a horse that he also cares for. Of course, Rappozo said she’ll be helping him out with that payment this year, but her son is worried the cancellations will continue into future fairs.
This, she said, is the third year in a row that Newcastle disease has been a prevalent issue in Southern California.
“I know all the kids are upset they won’t be able to take their animals this year, but this disease is spreading,” Rappozo said. “So I think this is a good safety measure they’re taking.”
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 7, 2019.
