Virus kills millions of crickets raised to feed pet reptiles, ruining some operations

Virus kills millions of crickets raised to feed pet reptiles, ruining some operations

www.latimes.com

PORT ALLEN, La. (AP) — A virus has killed millions of crickets that are raised to feed pet reptiles and zoo animals, putting some producers out of business and disrupting supplies to pet shops across North America.

The cricket paralysis virus killed 60 million of the insects at an operation in Canada, forced a Florida farmer to declare bankruptcy and prompted a Michigan grower to close until spring.

The virus led Elizabeth Payne to declare bankruptcy in June, and a bank foreclosed on her property in Leesburg, Fla., in November. She and her husband, who died three years ago, bought thei

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birds fish sea life. now crickets. omg government coverup, probably not even a virus just nature taking it's toll on the earth. who knows, more animals dead. yay. look at me i'm writing about stuff and i'm not even a news journalist or anything. hooray, am i at the 50 word mark? hope so, because i don't wanna keep typing because i just want people to know that there are more dead things...

www.latimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Captive strains are generally very in-bred, and vulnerable to pathogens because of low genetic diversity. Besides which, this is just an update on a nine year cricket-farming crisis.

It'll teach them to outbreed, if nothing else.

you sound like youre pretty sick of the world man haha.

Wow am I glad that I breed my own crickets...

Oh No! What will the Royal Family eat?

There is also fatal disease going on with the cormorant bird in a Florida sanctuary. I am sure it isn't related to the crickets but this disease can be passed on to our food chain via poultry. Just makes a person wonder!

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A fatal disease that is contagious for birds, but virtually harmless to humans, was found at a bird sanctuary on the Gulf Coast. Florida wildlife officials said Tuesday that they are monitoring the spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease, after it was found in a cormorant at Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary last week.

Officials say the cormorant is the only bird so far to be diagnosed with the disease. It causes minor skin irritation in humans but can be spread from infected birds to domestic poultry and pet birds. Symptoms for infected birds include coughing, muscular tremors, drooping wings, paralysis, eye-swelling and neck and eye or beak discharge.

www.miamiherald.com...#

It's the crickpocalypse !!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH