(The Center Square) – Thousands of snow geese migrating across Pennsylvania have authorities working overtime to mitigate the recent outbreak of bird flu and ensure public safety.
The state Game Commission on Jan. 2 announced the death of hundreds of birds recovered from Northampton and Lehigh counties. Since then, the cause has been confirmed as the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.
HPAI is a severely contagious viral disease that is lethal mostly to waterfowl and domestic poultry – but it can affect other wildlife as well.
The Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Stroudsburg was one of the first to draw attention to the outbreak in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Pocono Wildlife is a nonprofit serving 10 counties. Licensed and working with various federal and state agencies, the organization rescues and rehabilitates injured and orphaned animals for release back to the wild, while also educating the public.
Sampson Metzgar, the organization’s licensed raptor rehabilitator and avian specialist, told The Center Square that several snow geese were brought to them by the public in mid-December.
The birds’ symptoms were similar to lead poisoning, and avian flu snap tests were negative, he said. While some had lead in their systems, the birds were either dying shortly after arrival or developed nonstop seizures, requiring euthanasia.
Shortly thereafter, a concerned homeowner called about a goose struggling on their frozen pond and multiple other dead geese.
Pocono Wildlife’s Clinic Manager Ella Irwin said the Game Commission asked for samples, which were sent to Wildlife Futures for testing. The results were positive for HPAI, also known as H5N1.
The issue began, Metzgar said, when a Nazareth-area quarry owner called to report thousands of healthy snow geese on their lake but added there were many others that were either dead or dying along the shoreline.
He explained that symptomatic birds become disoriented and wander off from the flock, which is why some have ended up in people’s backyards or in other odd places.
The center put a call out on their Facebook page asking for donations to cover protective equipment for staff and expenses that come from properly collecting, euthanizing, and incinerating deceased birds.
But, on Jan. 4, the center announced it was directed by the Game Commission to stop intakes of snow geese and advised the public to report sick or dead waterfowl to the agency. Several days later, further instructions came to cease collecting or treating birds with neurological symptoms from the Lehigh Valley, which was considered a high-risk area.
By mid-month, the center was averaging over 60 calls per day – all were referred to the commission. Still, they received a “cease and desist” letter from the agency warning “any further occurrences of you or your employees or volunteers collecting and disposing of dead snow geese will be considered a violation and you could be cited for each, and every bird taken.”
Although complying with the directive, the public – thinking the birds were simply injured – continued dropping off dying birds that needed to be euthanized.
Frustrated, the center contacted Sen. Rosemary Brown, R-Scotrun.
Brown told The Center Square that, judging from her conversations with the group’s staff, they were passionate and dedicated to partnering with the Game Commission but felt the agency wasn’t responding.
She also believes the agency is trying to prevent the virus from being brought back to the center and spreading to wildlife being rehabilitated there.
The center does terrific work and are knowledgeable about the protocols required, Brown said, but its permit does not allow dead wildlife collection. She did, however, feel the agency’s communication was unclear and disrespectful.
“At this point, it’s really about bringing together the Game Commission, the public, and the rehabilitation center as partners in protecting this from spreading,” Brown said.
Irwin and Metzgar expressed concerns about dead birds being left for scavengers, potentially spreading the virus to other wildlife. Each had witnessed multiple carcasses with signs of scavenging after two days.
Travis Lau, Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesperson, echoed those concerns. He told The Center Square that the impact on scavengers is a big problem, and they are seeing raptors, vultures, and foxes affected – “which is the case anywhere there’s a carcass.”
Other animals testing positive for the virus include: Canada geese; bald eagles; snowy owl; great-horned owl; American crow; red-tailed, red-shouldered, and Cooper’s hawk; red fox; and turkey vulture.
In general, he said, the virus can persist for months – not only in the carcasses of birds that died of HPAI, but “it also likely exists in the environment around where those birds are.”
“At the originally reported mortality sites for instance,” Lau said, “where we removed more than 5,000 birds (estimated) the virus in all probability remains there. Healthy birds coming in could become exposed.”
He added that the USDA was part of the cleanup efforts at the original mortality sites, and had contracted with Lewis Environmental to perform this specialized work.
There are HPAI detections associated with 44 different sites, Lau said, but that could change daily.
Snow goose hunting season runs into April and hunters are cautioned to harvest only healthy-appearing birds and follow routine guidance when dressing them – including wearing nitrile gloves, protective eye wear, and a mask .Then, afterwards, wash hands and any clothing used in the process that may contain blood or feces.
Like everyone else, hunters should never handle wildlife that is sick or displaying signs of sickness, and instead, report it to the Game Commission, Lau said.
The agency’s website states that since the initial outbreak in the U.S. in January 2022, HPAI has impacted wild and domestic birds in every state.