Odisha: Death of Many Crows Triggered Panic- Veterinary Officials Collected Dead Crows #H5N1

Odisha: Death of Many Crows Triggered Panic- Veterinary Officials Collected Dead Crows
Friday, December 30, 2011
Report by Akshya Rout; Jajpur: The death of many crows triggered panic among residents in Jajpur Road on Thursday who have been advised by forest and veterinary officials not to touch the carcasses.

"Around 250 crows died in Jajpur Road on Thursday . People of the affected areas were instructed not to handle the dead crows without gloves. They were also instructed to bury the dead crows by digging deep holes so that the disease cannot not spread to more areas", said Dr K. Mohanty the Chief District Veterinary Officer (CDVO) of Jajpur on Thursday.

" The panic is caused by the simple fact that crows tend to hover around human settlements and stay in close contact with humans and recently many crows died of the deadly disease bird flu or H5N1 virus in Jharakhanda areas bordering Odisha", added Dr Mohanty.

Keeping in view the arrival of migratory birds in this winter , the veterinary department is ascertaining the sudden rise in the death of crows in Jajpur Road. , added Mohanty. A two member team of Animal Disease Research Laboratory (ADRL) collected samples of ten dead crows in Jajpur Road on Thursday which will be sent to the Bhopal's Indian Veterinary Research Institute to ascertain the cause of the crows' large-scale death , said Mohanty.
"It is very difficult to comment on reasons behind the deaths till we receive a detailed report, expected in a week's time", he said. "We are taking suitable measures and seeking views of experts about the deaths of crows", said Dr Mohanty.

"Crows are the scavengers. The authority is not taking steps to protect the scavengers. Crows are a rarity now", said Sudhanshu Parida the president of the district unit of Peoples For Animal. He also demanded that the scavenger be included in the schedule of protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act and the government take steps to protect crows, which may soon become extinct due to the negligent attitude of the forest and animal husbandry departments.
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