Natural Resources April 13, 2007 Public Advisory: Birds Died of Starvation Testing has confirmed that the dead murres that washed up on the beaches from Eastport to St. Shott�s over the Easter weekend died of starvation. The Animal Health Division of the Department of Natural Resources and the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre (Atlantic Region) today confirmed that the marine birds did not die from Avian Cholera or Avian Influenza and there is no sign of a toxic event. Staff with Environment Canada�s Canadian Wildlife Service have collected approximately 200 dead birds since April 6, 2007 and will continue to monitor the situation, removing further carcasses as necessary. In the case of starvation, which is a naturally occurring event, it is often difficult to determine a specific cause. For marine birds, especially fish-eating birds, die-offs due to starvation often occur when birds cannot access their prey. This can happen when fish are low in numbers, when fish move out of an area and the birds do not move with them, or if the fish move too low in the water and out of reach of the birds. People are asked not to touch the birds and to keep pets from coming into contact with them. Contact with a sick or dead bird may cause a skin infection. For further information contact: Dr. Hugh Whitney, provincial veterinarian, 709-729-6879 -30- Media contact: 2005 04 13 3:00 p.m.
|
|
All material copyright of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server.. Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement |
