File photo of the sign for the Town of Coaldale. (Lethbridge News Now)

By Cathy Gibson/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Discovery of dead birds prompts warning from Town of Coaldale

Apr 22, 2022 | 8:54 AM

COALDALE, AB – The Town of Coaldale has issued a notice to residents after receiving reports of dead Canadian Geese in the area.

Town officials are concerned that the deaths may be connected to the highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks that are affecting wild bird populations and commercial poultry operations across North America.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is currently investigating dozens of infections across the country.

The town is warning residents to stay away from any dead birds.

Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn says if you find a dead bird, don’t touch it. He recommends keeping children and pets away from the carcass and any droppings, and contacting the town office.

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“We’ve dealt with this in the past,” says Van Rijn, “and we have people that are trained with our Parks Department to look after this, and we will pick up the dead animals and take them to a secure area. Then we’ll be in contact with Alberta Fish and Wildlife to talk about disposal.”

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The current avian flu strain that is circulating is highly contagious among birds, so any spread presents a high risk to poultry producers in the area.

“As far as the avian influenza in this area, it’s very serious,” adds Van Rijn. “It doesn’t only affect municipalities like the town of Coaldale. It has huge impacts on poultry farms, and there are many that are affected across the country already. So, again, the town of Coaldale wants to be proactive and get the messaging out to our residents to be very cautious when they come across any dead birds.”

People are also being asked not to take any potentially infected birds to the local Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale because of the possible risk of spreading the disease.

The CFIA says avian influenza (AI) can affect several species of birds, including poultry raised for food production, as well as pet birds and wild birds.

That’s why one of the founders of the Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation, Colin Weir, says he is concerned about the potential risk to the Coaldale facility.

“For the centre, I’m very, very concerned,” says Weir, ” because we don’t know if we’re going to be taking in any injured birds or not this summer. Of course, we’re always concerned about the health and welfare of our birds going forward. So, just because there’s so many unknowns about it, and how prevalent it’s going to be, we’re just keeping a watchful eye on what is happening, and then just trying to minimize the exposure ourselves.”

The CFIA says AI viruses are classified into two categories: low pathogenicity and high pathogenicity based on how severe the illness is in birds. In Canada, both types are are considered to be Notifiable Avian Influenza, which is a reportable disease under the Health of Animals Act. Therefore, all cases must be reported to the CFIA.