PIERCE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) – Pierce Township Fire Chief Craig Wright has seen just about everything in his 30- year career, but never anything like this.
72 dead vultures were found littering the baseball fields at St. Bernadette Elementary School, where an official alerted Wright on Monday.
The birds were discovered on the athletic field at St. Bernadette School on Locust Lane. (WKRC, Provided, Pierce Township FD)
“My first kind of reaction was the concern of it being a school.” says Wright. “You know, we have over 200 kids at the school.”
How the birds got there and what exactly killed them, remains unknown.
“A reasonable assumption at this point is that it could be a type of bird flu. It has shown up in the last year or several months.” says Wright. “If it’s not bird flu, what else could it be? Is it another type of disease? Is it a poisoning? I don’t have a background in wildlife, don’t understand wildlife diseases, so, it was a struggle to advise people how to stay safe, when we really didn’t know what we were dealing with.”
Pierce Township Trustee Allen Freeman says this week has been a group effort, but says the situation has also led to frustration.
“I’m going to be critical of ODNR because this is their bailiwick and to some extent, they’ve been the last to come to the table on this issue. So, I will be critical of them, and I’ll continue to ride them because of that because they can’t do that. This has got to be an issue that they have to deal with and they’re responsible for it.”
ODNR crews were on scene Friday, removing the birds. but didn’t comment on the agency’s response, instead providing a statement
The birds were discovered on the athletic field at St. Bernadette School on Locust Lane. (WKRC)
“The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has conducted testing of other dead wild birds in Clermont County, and we have been advised that those other birds are ‘presumed positive’ for HPAI. While we refer you to ODA to help you understand the testing process, once a presumed positive case is identified in a county, all additional dead birds found in groups of six or more are also presumed to be HPAI and are treated as such. Therefore, the vultures in this case are presumed to be positive for HPAI, however, ODNR is working to collect additional samples to send for testing due to this unique circumstance.”
The statement also refers to other dead birds recently found in Clermont County, which were presumed cases of bird flu.
As a result, the agency classifies groups of six or more dead birds as presumed bird flu cases.
In this unusual instance, however, ODNR says it’s working to collect additional samples to send for testing.