Suspicious pigeon deaths in Rynfield concerns resident
A concerned Rynpark One resident Jim Sail said six pigeons already died on his porch and in his house during the last 10 days.
“Three more birds died on my neighbour’s porch,” he said and fears it might be a new strain of bird flu.
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“I have also noticed they don’t have soft feathers in their belly area, so maybe they are having digestive problems with the bread we are feeding them,” he said.
Chief state veterinarian Animal Health Regulatory Services of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Duma Mpofu, said the department has not had any new cases of bird flu in the last two months.
“So far, doves don’t seem to be affected by the avian influenza H5N8 strain virus. We have tested several and they all show that they die mostly from a paramyxovirus, which is the same family as the Newcastle disease virus instead,” he told the City Times.
He said the department will investigate the cause once the amount of deaths warrants it.
Sail said one of the pigeons was a racing pigeon.
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