As more and more birds become ill with bird flu, Canada’s poultry and wildlife facilities are on the brink, with officials imposing region-specific bans on transporting live birds and poultry products and experts advising Canadians to remove bird feeders. to combat proliferation.
Avian influenza is an infectious virus prevalent mainly in birds and can range from “slightly pathogenic” to “highly pathogenic”. The severe form attacks many internal organs in the infected bird, causing death in nine out of ten cases.
Since 2021, Canada has been battling outbreaks of bird flu. As of last week, more than 1.37 million birds have been affected nationwide since 2021.
According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), they are “currently responding to cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (HPAI) in farmed birds across Canada.”
In the last few weeks, the increase in reported cases among both farm and wild birds has sparked a new wave of concern.
In late April, the OWL Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Vancouver, Columbia, Metro, posted a statement on Facebook explaining that they were dealing with an outbreak of bird flu and had already affected or killed several of the wild birds they cared for. .
“Several rehabilitation centers unfortunately had to close new admissions, we are lucky in OWL that we have the necessary space and equipment to have many complete quarantine facilities for patients and we have updated our quarantine procedures to adapt to this virus “, The facility wrote in the April 28 publication. “Unfortunately, HPAI in birds of prey is fatal in 90-100 percent of cases, and we have already lost nesting adult bald eagles and adult Coopers Hawk.”
General Manager Rob Hope told CTV News Vancouver on Wednesday that they have seen about four positive cases received and have six that are considered potential. Their first case was in March.
“We get them mostly from the local areas here, Delta, Vancouver. “We had a positive from Bowen Island,” he said. “Unfortunately, the death rate is quite high and is within 24 hours.”
Birds that are sick with bird flu can show the disease through strange behavior, seizures or even falling from trees, the facility added in its Facebook post.
They are now calling on residents to remove bird feeders to prevent the disease from spreading further.
“To prevent the spread of HPAI, please consider temporarily removing bird feeders, keeping your chickens or poultry under cover, not in fields where wild waterfowl can congregate,” the statement said.
This is an opinion that is reflected by other experts. The BC SPCA issued a statement Thursday warning that wild birds play a “key role” in the spread of the virus and that backyard bird feeders must be stowed away and bird baths emptied.
“Bird feeders facilitate the spread of the disease by encouraging unnatural flocks of birds and attracting other wildlife, including predators and rodents,” the SPCA warning said.
“The availability of bird feeders and baths can also increase the risk of transmitting the virus between close animals such as chickens or turkeys in the backyard.
Environment and Climate Change Canada still states on its website that bird feeders are safe, but adds that they must be “removed from areas that are open to poultry and other domestic animals”. They also added that you should not feed wild birds by hand, as this could encourage them to congregate in one region, increasing the likelihood of transmission.
“Backyard bird feeders and baths should be cleaned regularly with a weak solution of home bleach (10 percent sodium hypochlorite),” they said. “Make sure they are well rinsed and dried before reuse.”
The public is also encouraged to help by reporting any sick or dead birds to the authorities, as well as birds that appear to be behaving strangely.
Many zoos have recently closed their enclosures to protect their birds, with the Toronto Zoo and the Edmonton Valley Zoo moving the birds from the show in March and April, respectively.
According to an online CFIA tool showing the status of ongoing investigations into reported avian influenza in the provinces, HPAI has been found in five flocks of poultry and other birds in British Columbia since early April, including one in Kelowna and one in Richmond recently Tuesday. .
Since the beginning of April, HPAI has been found in 21 flocks of poultry in Ontario, 25 flocks of poultry and other birds in Alberta and seven flocks of birds and other birds in Quebec and Saskatchewan.
There are currently 72 herds across the country in which HPAI has been found since December 2021.
The CFIA tool does not specify how many birds in each flock were found to have HPAI.
In March, the CFIA announced that it was imposing restrictions on imports and transportation of live birds, poultry products and by-products from certain US states, which are also seeing an increase in bird flu.
Initially, the list contained only seven states. But the list was updated on Thursday to add more and now contains 18 countries subject to restrictions.
Canadians who eat poultry products should not worry about food safety risks, the agency said. While bird flu can be transmitted to humans in rare cases, you cannot catch bird flu by eating boiled poultry or eggs.
During the epidemic, many countries also banned the transport of poultry products or live birds from Canada, with a number of temporary bans imposed in February due to an outbreak of HPAI in Nova Scotia.
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