H5N1 Outbreak in Central Valley, California: dead cows piled by roadsides (opens in new tab)

There's also this recent-ish piece regarding the USDA's response to bird flu in cows thus far.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/inside-the-bungled-bir...

In trials now, trials expect to be completed in five weeks:

https://drgnews.com/2024/10/23/south-dakota-company-to-test-...

Absolutely should not exist. California’s Central Valley cattle farms are notorious for giving people a glimpse of how inhumane factory farming is. You drive down I-5 and the smell of these places is overpowering for miles. You can’t ignore them and when you see them you know that no creature should be forced to live like that. I’ve heard from several friends that those farms contributed to their decision to stop eating animal products.

These farms are inhumane for the animals, and they exist as a fragile ecosystem at risk of bacterial or viral outbreaks. In nature, plants and animals coexist with insects and microorganisms in ways which are more robust to catastrophic collapse. But these cattle farms are like agricultural monocrops - dead dirt and one kind of creature, fed by machines and vulnerable to the rapid spread of disease and sickness. It’s bad for the animals and it’s bad for us.

So you’re absolutely right, this should not exist!

> The diseased carcasses are brought to Baker’s rendering site in the Fresno County town of Kerman, where the bodies are “recycled” and turned into “high protein” animal feed and fertilizer...... ”

Ahh USA, where the standards for the meat industry are obnoxiously low.