Avian Cholera Kills 1,200 Waterfowl
PORTERVILLE, Calif. — At least 1,200 ducks and other waterfowl are dead from a sudden outbreak of avian cholera at Lake Success, and a state wildlife official predicted that the death toll will rise.
Volunteers, prison work crews and state workers gathered dead birds along the shoreline of the lake near here Wednesday and planned to burn the carcasses to stem the bacteria’s spread, said Jim Crew, a state Fish and Game Department wildlife biologist.
Lake Success is closed to hunting because of the outbreak, he said.
Thousands of birds in California die each year from avian cholera, but the outbreak at Lake Success is particularly severe, Crew said.
Karen Jones, a state wildlife pathologist, said the disease only affects birds.
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