DNR Asking Public To Be Vigilant Of Avian Influenza
DNR Asking Public To Be Vigilant Of Avian Influenza
April 08, 2022Steve Schwaller
(Des Moines)– The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is asking for the public’s help in reporting any possible cases of avian influenza in wild birds. Dr. Rachel Ruden, state wildlife veterinarian with the DNR, tells KUOO news the reports play a vital role in trying to bring the situation under control…
“We want to hear reports of sick and dead birds, specifically any kind of clusters, so that’s typically five or more dead birds. But there’s other things, other things that are still fine to do, like bird feeding, having bird feeders out. Song birds are not the species that are likely to encounter this virus on the landscape, and so, you know, there’s plenty of other activities, you know, turkeys, and with the turkey season starting up, that’s another one of those species that we just don’t expect to see much overlap with waterfowl and with getting exposure to this virus.”
Sick or dead birds should be reported to your local wildlife biologist or state conservation officer. Dr. Ruden adds those birds should not be handled by the general public…
“We know people don’t like seeing potentially injured or sick wildlife and they want to intervene, but in this circumstance it’s really best to let us handle it. We have the protective measures in place to safely handle these birds.”
Dr. Ruden says they’re hoping things will start to ease soon when it comes to avian influenza…
“I think there’s some thought that now that the light geese have migrated out of Iowa, you know, that they may have brought the virus in, contaminated some of the water sources, that kind of thing, and now that they’re gone, how long will it take for that contamination to kind of dissipate and we’ll see if the virus disappears with it, too. The concern is that, you know, while they were here, they were also interacting with our resident populations.”
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been decimating poultry operations recently throughout both Iowa and Minnesota and several other states.
