12/01/2023
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Hello everyone - we have some very important, and honestly terrible, news to pass on.
Avian flu has made its way to the northstate. We’ve started to get intake forms from people who have found birds (mostly waterfowl - geese, some ducks and other types of birds) in their yards or other public areas, unable to fly.
We've been in constant contact with our vets and with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and after testing done on birds in the area, it looks like these birds have been afflicted with HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, aka the avian flu), which is a terrible, virulent, and untreatable disease affecting birds in our area.
Sadly, and we hate to say this, there is very little that can be done to help birds with this virus. In our experience, about 10% of the birds recover and fly away. The other 90% don't make it. There is no treatment, no medication that has shown to be effective, and birds taken to a vet suffering from this malady are euthanized.
What can be done if you are one of the folks who walks out your door one day and finds a beautiful snow goose on the ground, unable to fly? LEAVE IT ALONE. Please. DON'T TOUCH IT. Don't pick it up. Don't bring it inside your house, barn, or any other building. Don't put food out for it. The best that you can do is to make sure that household pets like dogs or cats are kept inside, leave it alone, and truly pray for the best. You can also contact your local animal control to see if they can help.
"What? I shouldn't even put food out for the poor thing?" CDFW has asked that folks NOT put food out for these birds, in the fear that the food will attract more birds to the area that will then be exposed to this virus. It's also a good idea to take down any bird feeders that might be in your area to avoid attracting birds to any one concentrated area.
We here at BWR are not taking in birds that are suspected of having the avian flu. This is because we can't risk exposing our facilities and our volunteers to this virus.
In short, there is very little that can be done for birds that are suffering from this terrible disease. Wildlife biologists and veterinarians have their best minds at work to figure out why this is happening in such high concentration in our area, but at the moment, there is no answer, no treatment, and only sadness.
If you do find dead birds in your neighborhood, they can be reported to CDFW here: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Laboratories/Wildlife-Health/Monitoring/Mortality-Report. Also from CDFW, "If there is a need to dispose of a dead bird, wear impermeable gloves or a plastic bag turned inside-out to collect the remains into a plastic garbage bag, which may then be placed in the regular trash collection. Afterwards, wash hands with soap and water and change clothing before having contact with domestic poultry or pet birds."
Here is a page from CDFW with more avian flu information: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Laboratories/Wildlife-Health/Monitoring/HPAI
We know that this will make some folks unhappy, and that there is an expectation that BWR and other wildlife rehabilitation facilities should have some type of answer for this awful situation. Please believe us when we say that we feel incredibly helpless at being unable to help these birds in any way. Stay healthy, everyone, and please send out prayers and good thoughts that this avian flu goes away quickly. 💔💔💔💔
