What's Biosecurity?

Biosecurity is a critical part of our operations as a chicken sanctuary. But what does that really mean? Biosecurity refers to “procedures intended to protect humans or animals against disease or harmful biological agents.” For those in animal rescue, biosecurity is second nature, but we recognize that the reasoning can be confusing if you’re not fluent in the language of zoonosis (infectious disease that can be transmitted between animals and humans). Chickens, in particular, are a species susceptible to a variety of illnesses that can easily spread between humans and among themselves. Therefore, it is critical to their health and ours that we follow good biosecurity practices.

Since Secondhand Stories was founded, we’ve practiced biosecurity measures. Our measures have been developed through a combination of veterinary advice from our partners at Lynwood Animal Hospital and Dundas Veterinary Services, as well as insights from Open Sanctuary and the lived experiences of other sanctuaries. Our protocol and policies were formalized in May 2023 with the publication of our Operations Manual and Zoonotic Disease Prevention Policy, and have been updated annually ever since. 

Consideration for reducing zoonotic transmission has been included in our daily, weekly, and monthly checklists. While Salmonella, Campylobacteriosis, Listeriosis, and Toxoplasmosis are concerns, we are most concerned about Avian Flu. This is because Avian Flu can be transmitted to chickens through contact with infected birds or their secretions (aerosol droplets or contaminated fomites). It is highly contagious among birds, and over the past several years, there has been an increased number of reported cases of Avian Flu in Ontario. 

When we began booking tours in 2023, we added an agreement that visitors must inform us if they’ve had contact with other farmed animals. In 2024, with the prevalence of Avian Flu, we updated our agreement. Like many other sanctuaries, we chose to operate in an abundance of caution for our chickens’ well-being and safety. We did not allow visitors who had contact with other chickens within 48 hours of visiting another farm. 

As of April 25, 2025, we’ve expanded our protocol to address growing concerns of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (aka HPAI, Avian Flu, Bird Flu). This means we can no longer safely welcome individuals who have recently had contact with farmed animals, including those who live or work on farms. While we understand this may limit some visits, this precaution is based solely on the risk of pathogen exposure.

​​Our biosecurity protocols are about the risk of disease transmission, not any demographic factors. We do not and will never restrict visitors based on who they are. Our policies reflect best practices across animal sanctuaries and veterinary guidance, and we apply them universally in order to protect the lives of our vulnerable rescued chickens. 

The best biosecurity practice is to assume that any person who has had contact with chickens, or been on a premises where they are kept could unknowingly carry pathogens on their clothing or shoes. Secondhand Stories does not have the capacity to verify other farms or backyard chickens’ owners’ biosecurity measures or protocols to make exceptions to this, and we do not believe it would be in the best interest of our limited resources and the lives of our special rescued chickens to risk it.