“Depopulated” to Death: A Farm’s Pandemic Nightmare
Crescent Duck Farm, the last remaining duck farm on Long Island, has been decimated—not by market forces or competition, but by the relentless H5N1 virus. On January 17, 2025, state bulldozers arrived to slaughter 100,000 ducks in the name of “biosecurity.” Workers in hazmat suits, federal agents, and a family’s livelihood—all wiped out in a single day. Owner Doug Corwin likened it to “Covid for ducks,” but let’s be honest: when government officials show up with kill orders, it’s less about health and more about destruction.

Generations Erased: “Selective Breeding? Try Selective Destruction.”
For four generations, the Corwin family built Crescent Duck Farm into a culinary landmark. Their ducks graced the tables of Manhattan’s finest restaurants, their genetics honed over decades. Now, all that remains is a freezer containing 10,000 eggs—a slim hope for rebuilding, contingent on USDA approval. “They’re treating my life’s work like a science experiment,” Corwin said bitterly. “But who needs heritage when you’ve got protocols?” The fallout is already rippling through the food world, where duck à l’orange is suddenly a rarity.

Jobs and Traditions Sacrificed on the Altar of “Safety”
Forty-seven workers are unemployed. Revenues have evaporated. Corwin is selling off land just to keep the lights on. And yet, officials tout “containment” as a victory. Meanwhile, the USDA’s proposed three-year “recovery plan” feels more like a death knell than a lifeline. “They’ll call it progress,” Corwin scoffed. “But wiping out an industry to save it? That’s government logic at its finest.”

“Low Human Risk”? Tell That to the Families Left Behind.
Officials claim H5N1 poses little threat to humans. But try telling that to the workers now jobless or the families losing healthcare. Suffolk County is doling out Tamiflu, but the real epidemic here is bureaucratic overreach. Dr. Pigott’s assurances—“No human transmission!”—ring hollow when livelihoods are crumbling.

America’s New Normal: Farms as Battlegrounds
Since 2022, 136 million birds have been culled. Dairy cows are being infected. Wild birds are the convenient scapegoats. But here’s the bigger question: When did farms become kill zones? Long Island once boasted 100 thriving duck farms. Crescent’s eradication isn’t just a tragedy—it’s a grim precedent for what’s to come.