As two more poultry flocks in British Columbia tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus on May 4, an animal welfare group is calling on the public to temporarily remove their backyard bird feeders.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said the two flocks in the cities of Kelowna and Richmond were the third and fourth confirmed flocks to have contracted the virus.
The infection likely came through contact with infected migrating wild birds, the CFIA said.
The first confirmed H5N1 case in B.C. poultry was at a commercial producer in the Regional District of North Okanagan in mid-April. Two other poultry flocks in Kelowna and Central Kootenay were also detected to have the H5N1 virus in late April.
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