Stratford swan dies of avian flu
The City of Stratford is urging residents and visitors not to feed local waterfowl including geese, ducks and swans after one its swans died of avian influenza.
In a media release, the city said it lost one of its young swans earlier this month. Testing has now confirmed that it died of avian influenza.
Several wild turkey vultures along the Avon River in Stratford, as well as a bald eagle in nearby St. Marys have also died recently as a result of the virus, the city said.
“Hand feeding encourages birds to congregate around food sources, and can increase the probability of transmission of the Avian Influenza virus, also known as the ‘bird flu,’” the city said.
The swans have been a fixture in Stratford since 1918 and are most famous for their annual spring parade, which traditionally draws large crowds.
The city also provided this list of signs of avian flu in birds “people should look out for”:
- nervousness, tremors or lack of coordination
- swelling around the head, neck and eyes
- lack of energy or movement
- coughing, gasping for air or sneezing
- diarrhea or
- sudden death
Twenty-one swans make their way toward the Avon River during the Stratford Swan Parade on Sunday, April 8, 2018.
Anyone who finds a dead, injured or sick swan in the parks system is asked to call the City of Stratford’s Parks, Forestry and Cemetery Manager at 519-271-0250 extension 246.
If a sick or dead wild bird is found on private property, it should be immediately reported to the Ontario regional centre of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at (866) 673-4781, or online.
The city noted there is a very small risk of transmission from birds to animals, but people should not touch dead, injured or sick birds.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.