People are being advised to take down their bird feeders to help stop the spread of Avian flu.
Cornell Cooperative Extension said highly pathogenic avian influenza is a serious, fatal disease of poultry that, since the beginning of the year, has been identified in over 350 wild birds in 20 states, including New York.
New York has also had 3 cases of Avian flu to date in backyard poultry flocks, which resulted in the death of 268 birds.
Cornell Cooperative Extension said one way the public an help protect domestic poultry flocks is to take down wild bird feeders. While the disease is mostly carried by wild waterfowl, research has shown that other wild bird populations can carry it too, especially if they share nesting and feeding grounds with wild waterfowl. These populations include perching birds and songbirds.
CCE is uncertain as to when it will be safe to put feeders back out, but scientists believe that case loads should decrease over the summer months. They said the highest risk of spreading the disease is now, during the spring migration. That said, this is a disease of the colder months, and cases may spike again during the fall migration.
This disease can cause unusual deaths and illness in both wild and domestic birds. Concerns about dead or sick wild birds can be directed to the Region 9 Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) office at (716) 851-7010.
Leave a Reply