Feeding banned as 12 birds die at Sukhna Lake

CHANDIGARH: Following the deaths of a dozen domesticated geese near the entrance of the Sukhna Lake in the last few days, the UT forest and wildlife department has banned feeding of birds fearing a possible fallout on the migratory birds that are currently staying here.
Two more extremely sick geese were recovered by the wildlife staff on Thursday evening.The wildlife staff are seizing grains, gram, popcorn, "kurkure" and other food stuff people feed to birds. Vendors of such foodstuffs, except fruits, have been asked to leave the vicinity of the entrance. The sick birds had strayed far away from the waters at the entrance and were in a lethargic state. They were rescued by wildlife staff and police using boats and golf carts.
Some birds reported stiff necks, extreme shivering and were going around in circles. In a parallel episode at the lake in January 2007, 12 wild birds, including a few migratory birds, had died while one large egret and four domesticated geese had fallen ill with similar symptoms. Tests had ruled out bird flu as the cause of the deaths in 2007. Ten migratory birds had died at the lake due to eating human foods in the winter of 2012-13.
"We have taken blood samples and sent these to a diagnostic laboratory at Jalandhar. It will take time for the results to get back to us. I have stopped feeding of birds at the lake as it could lead to further deaths of migratory birds. Two of our personnel are deputed through the day to stop people from feeding birds. We also held an awareness talk for schoolchildren at the lake this morning to stop people from feeding birds,'' UT chief wildlife warden Santosh Kumar told TOI.
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) veterinarian Dr Debojit Das, who had examined the sick geese in January 2007, had then told TOI that the sick birds "were displaying symptoms of a nervine disorder that is common to avian diseases like botulisim and cholera. This means the birds functioning is affected by a nervous disorder that reveals itself in symptoms like the bird going in circles or trying to look skywards."
BNHS expert Dr Vibhu Prakash had told TOI then that "the deaths at the lake of wild birds were likely to be the result of some disease. It could be some bacterial infection."
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UT deputy conservator of forests Birendra Choudhary said, "Feeding bread to birds (even ducks) can cause problems with their digestive systems as the bread ferments in their stomachs. And, processed meats are high in salts, fats and preservatives."