Mysterious pigeon deaths

A NUMBER of pigeons died mysteriously in the Omaruru area last month, but no disease was detected in the birds.

The State Veterinarian at Omaruru, Dr Elvira Kleber, told The Namibian yesterday that post-mortems and tests for bird flu were done by the Central Veterinary Office in Windhoek, “but everything was negative.” She said around 100 birds died in the Okombahe area but no new deaths have been reported since then.She said they also took some water samples from the area where the birds died but these were not analysed because of financial reasons.Kleber said she has been informed of more pigeon deaths around Omaruru itself, but has not fully investigated these reports yet.She called on the public to inform the State Veterinary Service if they notice any unusual deaths among birds or poultry.She said around 100 birds died in the Okombahe area but no new deaths have been reported since then.She said they also took some water samples from the area where the birds died but these were not analysed because of financial reasons.Kleber said she has been informed of more pigeon deaths around Omaruru itself, but has not fully investigated these reports yet.She called on the public to inform the State Veterinary Service if they notice any unusual deaths among birds or poultry.