The peacocks at Critteraid in Summerland have been tested and were not infected with avian flu. In late October, chickens died from the virus and ducks at the Summerland animal sanctuary had been put down. However, the sanctuary has worked with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency since that incident and the facility is now reopened. (Facebook.com/critteraidokanagan)
After following measures from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) following an avian influenza case in fall, a Summerland animal sanctuary has now reopened.
In October, the Critteraid animal sanctuary had to take measures following a positive case of H5N1, an avian influenza virus, at its facility.
On Oct. 25, a bird at the sanctuary died. By the following Monday, three more birds had died. Before the test results had come back, all the chickens at Critteraid had died. Since Critteraid kept ducks in the same building, the ducks were also put down.
Lori Stewart, president of Critteraid, said the organization took measures to keep the virus from spreading to other birds on its facility.
In addition, the CFIA was working with Critteraid on next steps for infected birds.
Quarantine orders had been put in place at the Critteraid property and strict regulations were in place.
On Nov. 28, after following steps from the food inspection agency, Critteraid said in a Facebook post that the facility had reopened and the peacocks had been spared.
Tests were conducted on the birds and the results came back negative.
“Our beautiful peacocks, Jake and Nicolaj, were not exposed and are now exempt and safe,” the post said.
“This experience didn’t just raise questions — it opened dialogue for the importance of our role in animal welfare.”
Critteraid has been invited to join several various committees to bring forward questions, learn from experts and contribute to discussions on avian flu and related matters.
During this time, the animal shelter still had 100 other animals in its care.
Critteraid is a nonprofit animal sanctuary in Summerland. It has functioned for more than 30 years and houses cats, dogs and farm animals.
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