On Saturday goverment officials confirmed cases of the H5N1 virus in two poultry farms in India’s Gujarat state. India’s first case of the virus was discovered in neighboring state Maharashtra last week. Read the full story India confirms another 3 dead birds with H5N1 virus in the state of Gujarat in the Khaleej Times Online.
A British family who moved to the south of England is leaving their new home after months of harassment from neighbors over their pigeons. The family of six moved to Hampshire to be closer to a championship pigeon racing competition but neighbors who didn’t fancy the pigeons tried to scare the birds away. Read Anna Burdett’s story PIGEON FANCIER IS FORCED OUT in the News and Star.
A Belgian bird protection group released a statement, saying, “Taken by panic, a lot of bird owners … are releasing their birds in to the wild, putting their old pets but also the fauna’s balance at risk.” Read Julien Ponthus’ article Belgian owners release pets in bird flu scare from Reuters.
During World War II, the U.S. Air Force developed a new type of bomb – a glide bomb. Instead of falling straight on a target, it would instead float at an angle towards its target, guided by a variety of tools. Behaviorist Burrhus Frederic Skinner thought of a brilliant new way to guide these missiles during World War II using pigeons.
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A Dutch quail farmer has confessed to keeping a pair of rare songbirds in his hen house. He lost them both to mass poultry culling in 2003. He managed to save one egg, which has now been hatched. History is threatening to repeat itself, and the near-extinct Redscowl Bluesingsky.
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The scientific significance of the fossil is unquestioned and its monetary value thought to be in excess of $1 million; the fact that it is bound for a private museum has drawn scorn from some scientists.
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British pet owners abandon their parrots in droves as fears of bird flu fly. A record 23 pets, worth ~£20k, turned up on the National Parrot Sanctuary’s doorstep this past weekend.
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Dutch bird hobbyists, who keep chickens, geese and ducks as pets, are giving their birds to local petting zoos and children’s farms out of fear of bird flu. Many pet owners do not have the resources to shelter their birds indoors, as is required by law in Holland from last Monday.
At farms and petting zoos in cities like the Hague, Apeldoorn and Leideschendam, the pet birds have been tossed into the yard by their owners.
Jan Wolleswinkel, president of the Dutch Organization for Poultry Farmers (NOP), warns that birds which have been vaccinated against the bird flu may still be culled in case the virus breaks out in their neighborhood.
A macaw owned by a Pennsylvania man attacked a burglar last month when the criminal broke into its owner’s apartment. The bird drew blood and the attack lead to the culprit’s confession. Read the story Pet Bird Beats Up Burglar at Fox News.
Farmers in Norway want fresh grass for their livestock and are threatening to drive off migratory geese – and their poop. As a result, it’s possible that tens of thousands of bean geese which are now in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark will have big problems on arrival in Norway when they begin their migration. Researcher Marcel Kaassen from the Dutch Institute for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) pleads for international intervention in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
The small bean goose has two populations in Europe. One group winters in the United Kingdom and migrates to Greenland or Iceland for the warmer months. The Spitsbergen group flies from their winter homes in the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to their breeding ground in Spitsbergen. They have rest stops throughout Norway during their journey.
