Bird flu kills 12 swans in Stratford
THE death toll of swans caused by avian flu has now reached 12 within the last fortnight.
Describing it as the worst day in his life working on the River Avon, Stratford swan carer – Cyril Bennis – was reduced to tears and labelled Tuesday as “dreadful” after he pulled six dying swans out of the water.
“Watching them die and seeing the suffering of these beautiful creatures is beyond belief. When I catch them from a boat and pull them out of the river they hang onto me with their beaks because of the unimaginable pain they’re going through – you wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I went home and cried after what I saw on Tuesday,” Cyril Benns said.
The death toll shows no signs of easing. Cyril rescued six swans on Tuesday, four on Sunday and the rest all died within the last fortnight.
Avian flu attacks a birds central nervous system and results in swans or geese becoming increasingly weak and then swimming round in circles as they lose control of neck muscles.
At present there is no known cure other than to follow Defra advice and isolate private aviaries or birds on farms to help prevent the spread of the killer virus.
“I am lucky – if that’s the right word – that we have a much better system in place for dealing with this ongoing tragedy than we did last winter. I have a close working relationship with Stratford District Council which collects the bird carcasses and Stratford Boat Club act as my eyes and ears on the river while also taking me out on the river in one of their boats to help the stricken birds. This is a disease that is so cruel and it’s the process in which they die that is so hurtful and painful to see,” Cyril said.
Defra confirmed this week that avian flu is back in In the United Kingdom, there have been 144 confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 since 1st October.
• 130 cases in England
• 10 cases in Scotland
• 3 cases in Wales
• 1 case in Northern Ireland