ASHEBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Zoo announced Monday it is closing its aviary habitat to the public as a precautionary measure.
The zoo said the closure is due to recently confirmed cases of avian flu in wild birds found in eastern North Carolina.
“For birds, avian flu is a highly contagious viral disease that can affect several species of birds, including domestic poultry and wild birds,” NC Zoo wrote in a news release. “This disease, if spread, could have devastating effects on poultry farms (both commercial and backyard flocks) and birds living in zoos and wildlife centers.”
Zoo officials said the zoo will work with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and the USDA to determine when it can safely reopen the aviary habitat. The zoo will immediately test its birds that show any clinical signs of illness, which includes sneezing, coughing, lack of energy and poor appetite.
“Closing the aviary is a preventive, precautionary measure to protect all our bird species at the zoo as the disease can spread very quickly and is often fatal to them,” zoo director of animal health Dr. Jb Minter said. “The disease has so far only been found in a very few wild birds in North and South Carolina.”
The zoo will work with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and the USDA to determine when it can safely reopen the aviary habitat.
Officials said the zoo will immediately test its birds that show any clinical signs of illness, which includes sneezing, coughing, lack of energy and poor appetite.
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