Due to bird flu, the entire bird population of the Helikon Castle Museum in Keszthely had to be put down, the castle announced on its Facebook page. In the bird park, 380 wild birds of different species were kept.
This article was originally published on our sister-site, Ungarn Heute.
“We have to share with you some sad news. Unfortunately, the small residents of our bird park have also fallen victim to the national bird flu epidemic. We are now closing the doors of the Palm House and the Bird Park to take the necessary precautions, but hopefully next year our Bird Park will be full of nestlings again,” shared the Helikon Castle Museum on its Facebook page recently.
The staff of the Festetics Castle Bird Park in Keszthely recently became aware of the unexpected death of the animals, after which they immediately closed the affected area and reported the incident. The tests conducted by the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) revealed that the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza was present in all cases.
To prevent the spread of the disease, veterinarians had to eradicate the entire bird population of the park. To take precautionary measures, the Palm House and the Bird Park of Festetics Castle in Keszthely will remain closed to visitors until December 31.
The bird park kept 380 wild birds of different species.
At the same time, new infections were reported from southern Hungary. Bird flu was detected on a farm, the Food Safety Authority NÉBIH announced on its website. The virus of subtype H5N1 was detected on a turkey farm in Békés county. Nearly 5,000 birds are being destroyed and restrictions have been imposed. In November, authorities detected the virus on several other farms in other counties.
Featured image via the Helikon Castle Museum’s Facebook page
