27-01-2025
Avian bird flu sparks concerns amongst Pawleys Island General Store in big poultry factory farms
PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. (WBTW) — The avian bird flu outbreak has caused millions of birds to be slaughtered across the county due to the virus spreading rapidly amongst larger flocks.
Pawleys Island General Store Owner Marybeth Pope said she wasn't shocked when she found out the Avian flu, better known as the bird flu, was spreading once again across the US.
'There's been a number of outbreaks of bird flu,' she said. 'I mean, there were outbreaks in 2023. There were outbreaks I think in 2020, 2019, 2015.'
She believed the bird flu continues to make an appearance because of the working conditions of thousands of poultry factory farms and their unhealthy living conditions.
'They're in very, very close quarters. They're usually on transport. You can see the trucks, they're there, they're transported, stacked on top of each other when they're going to slaughter,' she said. 'Getting something like the bird flu, then it's also transmitted through the feces and their saliva. And they're in such close quarters, it's just naturally going to happen.'
Pope said her store hasn't seen any problems when it comes to the bird flu due to all of their poultry and other meats coming from local farmers. Their eggs and chicken are brought in from Georgetown and Saint Johns Island and have a direct relationship with the farmers and what they offer.
She said the eggs and chicken sold are all free-range chickens, which means they're able to roam around the farm outdoors for most of their day and live a normal chicken life instead of being confined to a small cage.
'We know our farmer and where the eggs came from, where the chicken came from, where the meat came from,' Pope said. 'So, they're confident we're going to do the right thing.'
Pope said although her business hasn't been affected, she's saddened for the birds that are being killed due to consumer concerns. She said the flu is mild flu that would have the effects of a common cold for humans if were to be impacted by it. She said it can also usually be transferred from different birds and animals.
'It can be transmitted from migratory birds. It can be transmitted from maybe predatory animals like a coyote or some other animal that maybe eats a migratory bird or a wild turkey or something,' she said.
Pope said although the bird flu can even happen in your own backyard, big factory poultry farms are the main source of spreading due to their conditions.
'But what happens is the birds are in such close proximity just crowded shoulder to shoulder. Basically, it stresses them out. They're not in a natural environment and it makes them more susceptible to illness,' she said. 'Even like people — if you're stressed out, that can make you more susceptible to illness in general.'
But Pope said there may be a way to stop people from the fear of the bird flu by becoming more aware of it and prevent even large factories from having to meaninglessly kill them for precautionary concerns, and that is, by still eating them safely.
'If you cook your chicken or your eggs to a safe temperature, which is 165, basically for chicken and for eggs,' Pope said. 'So, if you're cooking your product to the proper temperature, it's going to kill the bird flu. So, there's really not a problem with it.'
Always having a passion for locally-sourced farm-to-table goods, for the roughly 10 years the General Store has been open, Pope said she doesn't plan on changing her store's values when it comes to selling locally sourced goods.
She said her store's eggs cost $7.50, a concern she said many consumers have for the price. But Pope hopes more people can learn from the bird flu why locally sourced food is important and why it costs what it does.
'We just have to keep educating people, talking to people and making them understand that it costs more for a small farmer to produce his product than it does a large corporation,' she said. 'And in the end, we should support that small form of farmer that should be important to us because it supports our local economy. It's better for you, it's better for your children, it's better for your family. And then it just grows from there.'
With colder conditions not having hens lay as many eggs, she said her egg stock is low not because of the bird flu. A flu, she said, should be educated more about with outbreaking in factory farming — not local farming.
'I don't think is ever going to go away as long as we have factory farming and chickens and turkeys and animals are grown, are raised in overcrowded conditions, I don't think that's ever going to go away,' Pope said. 'People might become used to it, but people might educate themselves and realize that they don't have to be 'used to it.''
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Gabby Jonas joined the News13 team as a multimedia journalist in April 2024. She is from Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in May 2023. Follow Gabby on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
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