Until further notice, Alabama has now banned exhibiting or selling chickens or any type of birds together. This includes regional and county fairs, live bird markets, auctions, swap meets, festivals, and flea markets. 

The "stop movement" was issued on Wednesday, after three cases of suspected avian flu were found in the northern part of Alabama. The purpose of the order is to keep the flu from spreading. 

These cases follow the first cases of "highly pathogenic" confirmed bird flu this year, north of the Tennessee state line. As a precaution, more than 70,000 chickens were killed at a breeder farm in Lincoln County. 

A "control zone" of 10 kilometers was established around the Lincoln County farm, and Alabama agriculture agents have been checking all chickens—twice—in parts of the zone that enter Alabama. 

There are also three cases that are currently being followed in Alabama outside the control zone, which indlue a breeder farm in Lauderdale County, run by Aviagen, a large poultry producer, whose U.S. offices are in Huntsville. Aviagen killed 15,000 chikens after finding avian flu antibodies.

Source: AL.com (3/16/17), "Avian flu threat closes poultry shows and sales in Alabama"