Bird flu in Brampton confirmed after tests on dead animals

Brampton | Caledon | Latest News |

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Published March 21, 2023 at 8:26 am

Canada geese

Flocks of dead birds found in Brampton have tested positive for bird flu, making Brampton at least the third Ontario municipality to confirm cases of the virus in under a week.

The City of Brampton issued a warning about two possible avian flu incidents on Friday after approximately 100 dead birds, mostly Canadian Geese, were found in the area of Professor’s Lake and Duncan Foster Valley South.​

Specimens were sent to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative for testing and the City now says Avian Influenza has been confirmed as the cause of death.

And while bird flu poses a low risk to humans the virus is a threat to birds as a highly pathogenic type of bird flu has been tearing through Canadian flocks since early 2022, killing millions of birds and infecting a record number of avian species.

Peel Public Health is recommending residents and pet owners are asked to take the following precautions:

  • Keep animals away from any waterfowl or fecal matter
  • Do not feed or otherwise interact with the waterfowl
  • Keep cats indoors
  • Keep dogs on a leash (as required under the municipal by-law)
  • Do not feed pets (e.g., dogs or cats) any raw meat from game birds or poultry
  • Pet birds, if not normally kept indoors, should be restricted to the indoors
  • Bird feeders should be removed or washed with soap and water frequently to reduce the chance of bacterial or viral contamination

The Town of Caledon also said on Friday that a number of dead birds were in a pond near Coleraine Dr. and Harvest Moon Dr. but the Town has not yet said whether the animals tested positive for bird flu. The Town has closed a trail in the area out of precaution and says testing is being conducted by the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative to determine the birds’ cause of death.

Last week the Toronto Zoo shut down some of its bird enclosures after an avian flu case was detected at a southern Ontario poultry farm, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency also detected a case at a commercial poultry operation southeast of Hamilton last week.

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