{"id":276615,"date":"2025-11-22T03:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T03:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/276615\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T03:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T03:56:11","slug":"dawlish-reacts-after-bird-flu-outbreak-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/276615\/","title":{"rendered":"Dawlish reacts after bird flu outbreak tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The aviary is a beloved attraction at the seaside town – for locals and tourists alike\"LookingLooking inside to see the ducklings kept on display at Dawlish Water.<\/p>\n

A community fundraiser has topped \u00a31,000 as locals rally to restore the Dawlish<\/a> Waterfowl Aviary following a devastating bird flu outbreak that has forced a mass cull of cherished birds.<\/p>\n

The outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has already claimed multiple waterfowl in the Devon town, including two iconic black swans and several species housed in the aviary. Dawlish Town Council confirmed that between 40 and 50 birds are expected to be culled after testing by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).<\/p>\n

In response, a fundraising campaign launched by local resident Alfie Binyon has seen residents dig deep, despite financial pressures in the run-up to Christmas<\/a>. The GoFundMe page has already surpassed the \u00a31,000 mark, with donations continuing to come in.<\/p>\n

Alfie wrote: \u201cEyes of Dawlish have always had the waterfowl in our hearts and are devastated to hear of the latest news. We are hoping to raise money for the Dawlish waterfowl deep clean \u2013 possibly some new birds once this awful outbreak has been tackled.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI know this is not the best time to raise funds\u2026 but anything we can raise as a community would help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The money raised will support the future restoration of the aviary, including a deep clean and potential restocking. Under current Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) guidelines, new birds cannot be introduced until 12 months have passed since the outbreak.<\/p>\n

The outbreak happened at the Dawlish Aviary <\/p>\n

In a post shared on 20 November, the Eyes of Dawlish Facebook group addressed questions about the use of the funds, confirming the money would not be absorbed into council budgets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are planning on meeting with the council hopefully within the next few weeks when we hit our target and discuss how the money will be spent with the community\u2019s ideas in mind,\u201d the group posted.<\/p>\n

Dawlish Town Council has confirmed the outbreak and pledged to follow all health and safety procedures. Town clerk Andrew McKenzie said five birds had already died and testing confirmed avian flu. \u201cIn total, approximately 40 to 50 are due to be culled,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mayor Anthony James added: \u201cThe black swans and our aviary birds are a cherished symbol of Dawlish. Like many of you, I am deeply saddened by these events.\u201d<\/p>\n

The remaining black swans on Dawlish Water are not part of the cull and are being monitored closely. A 3km (1.9 mile) captive bird monitoring zone has been established around the area.<\/p>\n

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) advises people not to approach sick or dead birds and to avoid feeding waterfowl to help reduce the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n

Donations to the fundraiser can be made at: https:\/\/gofund.me\/ee4745625<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The aviary is a beloved attraction at the seaside town – for locals and tourists alikeLooking inside to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3462,44081,1325,59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-276615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-christmas","9":"tag-dawlish","10":"tag-facebook","11":"tag-gb","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}