Dutch Seagulls Die of Bird Flu: Hundreds Found Dead in Flevoland

The hundreds of dead seagulls found in Flevoland last week have died of bird flu. Researchers draw this conclusion after testing carcasses of a few animals, reports Omroep Flevoland.

Since last Sunday, dozens of dead birds have been found every day in the Zwarte Meer near Kraggenburg. Those animals lay dead on breeding islands, floated in the water or had ended up at a landscape artwork nearby. Weakened specimens were also found that could no longer stand on their feet.

A highly contagious variant of the virus was found in all the birds examined. “It’s going around a lot among black-headed gulls, we see,” says Jelle Boontje of the Dutch Wildlife Health Center, which carried out the research. According to him, many dead animals have also been found at a gull colony in Lake Veluwe near Harderwijk.

To prevent contamination, Rijkswaterstaat advises not to clean up dead animals yourself, but to warn experts. In the past week they have collected hundreds of animals. This is done dressed in protective overalls, masks and gloves to prevent transmission of the disease. The dead birds are destroyed.

Since October 2021, Europe has been dealing with the largest bird flu outbreak ever. The virus has spread across 37 European countries and has led to the culling of many hundreds of poultry farms. In the wild, the virus has been identified more than 3,000 times.

The Dutch Wildlife Health Center already feared that the breeding season would lead to a revival of the virus, because large groups of animals would then gather.