Hundreds of Birds in NYC Infected by Bird Flu after Poultry Markets Allowed to Reopen

Activists warned that there was no way to regulate the live markets in the face of the crisis. (Photo by Helayne Seidma)

A March 5, 2025 NY Post article reported that “Hundreds of birds at a Queens live poultry market have succumbed to a new bird flu outbreak — less than two weeks after the shops were allowed to reopen as the virus runs rampant across the nation.”

What Can I Do?

UPC sent out an alert on February 11, 2025 to Urge New York Governor Hochul to Permanently Shut Down Live Bird Markets. Even if you have already done so, please contact Governor Hochul and urge her to immediately close all live animal markets and keep them closed. If you are not a New York state resident, please tell Governor Hochul that the failure to permanently close New York’s live animal markets prevents you from visiting the state out of concern for the avian flu viruses, campylobacter bacteria and other transmittable respiratory and intestinal diseases being spread to the streets and the air by these markets in which infected chickens and other sick animals are kept in squalor.

Contact:

The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
[email protected]

Phone: 1-518-474-8390 | Office hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm

Governor Contact Form: www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form

Hundreds of birds at a Queens live poultry market have succumbed to a new bird flu outbreak — less than two weeks after the shops were allowed to reopen. (Photo by Helayne Seidman)