The Brabant Noord-Oost Animal Ambulance was inundated with reports of bird flu. According to Rens van Lieshout of Dierenambulance, there are hundreds of reports per day. The foundation must turn out dozens of times a day for a bird with possible avian flu.
According to Van Lieshout, the situation is not good. He mainly receives a lot of reports from the area around the Maas and from larger places like Den Bosch. In the case of the Maas, it is mainly waterfowl, reports from the city are for example pigeons and songbirds. “It’s worse than usual,” says Van Lieshout. Crowds are often seasonal. In spring, Van Lieshout knows, it is often young birds and ducks. In autumn these are often large groups of birds engaged in bird migration.
The animal ambulance can handle most calls by giving advice. If the animals are already dead, the ambulance will not arrive. It is the municipality’s job to clean up dead birds.
Strange symptoms
According to van Lieshout, it is entirely possible to recognize whether birds have avian flu or not. “They show strange symptoms. They are unstable, they turn their heads, they are disoriented and you can usually get close to them. This is not normal behavior for birds, because they are shy of people.”
If the ambulance arrives, the employees adhere to an avian flu protocol. For example, there is a special “disaster ambulance”, specially designed to transport animals with bird flu. The animals then go to the nearest vet, who puts them to sleep. The Animal Ambulance Brabant-Noordoost is active in nineteen municipalities in Brabant and in a part of southern Gelderland.
It is surprising that the animal ambulance in West Brabant receives hardly any reports of bird flu. It is a single report “And not even every week,” says a spokesperson. West Brabant takes care of the six westernmost municipalities of Brabant. According to Van Lieshout, this can be explained by the fact that there is more bird flu in some areas than in other places. “We have had outbreaks here recently and there is also a transport ban.”
Problems for a long time
Bird flu has been raging in our country for a year. Unique, since the virus usually disappears in the summer, only to reappear later in the year. Yet there appears to be no end to the wave of avian flu and the mandatory national confinement, which has been in place since the beginning of this month. Last Thursday, 25,000 laying hens were culled in Neerkant.
READ ALSO: Bird flu in Den Bosch: “Keep your dog on a leash”
