IPOH: Perak is investigating an isolated case of pigeons dying near the Ipoh Padang for possible Avian Influenza, Newcastle Disease and Avia Adenovirus, all diseases that lead to high mortality in birds.
The state Veterinary Services Department head of health Dr R Pravina Vathi said it is investigating following a report by the Ipoh City Council of unexplained pigeon carcasses found at the field’s fountain area.
She said the council reported the incident at 12.30pm on Sunday (May 4) and that a team from the department had gone to inspect the site at 2.05pm.
"During the inspection, only a few carcasses were found in the drains at the site. Further checks revealed that most of the carcasses had already been collected by the council's cleaning team in the morning.
"The carcasses that were found in the drain were sent for laboratory analysis. Samples were delivered at 10am on Monday to the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) for disease testing and to the Chemistry Department for poison detection on Monday (May 5) at 10am," she said in a statement.
“From our observation during the inspection, many pigeons in the area appeared normal and healthy. No new bird deaths have been reported as of the morning of May 5,” she said, adding that poisoning might be a possible cause.
She added that the council has been informed to immediately notify the department if there are any further bird deaths at the location.
When contacted, Dr Pravina said disease test results are expected within one to two weeks, while poisoning results may take up to a month.
“When we visited the site yesterday, we still saw birds that were alive and behaving normally. There were no signs of illness or weakness among them,” she added.
A recent video showing several dead pigeons near the fountain was uploaded to Facebook by a user named "Taiping Kini" on May 4. The footage has since gone viral on social media.
