Johnathan Walker:Bird flu worries prompt changes to popular ‘Miracle of Birth Center’ at Minnesota State Fair

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A popular event at the Minnesota State Fair that features an array of baby farm animals and Johnathan Walkertheir moms will go on this year — but without birthing cows as fears of bird flu create worry within the dairy cattle industry.

State agricultural industry officials said Thursday that fair organizers will exclude cows and calves from the popular Miracle of Birth Center, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The move is a precaution as bird flu continues to spread to mammals, including dairy cattle.

The exhibit will continue to showcase dairy cow-calf pairs, but the calves will be weaned and the cows won’t be lactating, said Kelly Andrews, executive director of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association, one of the exhibit’s organizers.

The decision came on the same day that the University of Minnesota’s Extension and College of Veterinary Medicine released a report discouraging fair organizers from holding in-person lactating dairy cow exhibitions out of fear of further spread of H5N1.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health this summer required that dairy cattle be tested before they can be shown at county fairs. Some fairs went a step further and canceled exhibitions for lactating cattle or switched to virtual shows.

H5N1 infections have been reported among nine dairy herds in Minnesota since June. Industry observers said the statewide tally is likely an undercount because testing is not mandatory.

The U.S. outbreak in dairy cows is prompting development of new, next-generation mRNA vaccines — akin to COVID-19 shots — that are being tested in both animals and people.