Black vultures are frequent fliers at the R-Board Regional Landfill, where they feast on organic waste and other refuse.
But in recent weeks, landfill staff noticed an odd reversal in the natural order: the scavengers’ carcasses were piling up around the property, a regional landfill in southern Stafford County.
“In an effort to determine the cause, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was contacted, and specimens were collected for testing,” R-Board Director Phil Hathcock told the Free Press in a statement Tuesday.
On April 5, they received an answer: avian influenza.
Hathcock said landfill staff are “taking extra precautions to ensure that any deceased vultures are properly disposed of immediately and that no other hazards to any vectors are present on the property.”
In an email, VDH spokesperson Brookie Crawford wrote that “at this time, there are no cases of H5 bird flu infections in people or cattle in Virginia.”
The virus is, however, spreading among wild bird populations.
“Due to scavenging of waterfowl and even infected individuals from their own roosts, vultures are particularly susceptible,” said Shelby Crouch, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. “At this time, the best way to try and limit spread is to remove carcasses from the landscape to limit exposure.”
Members of the public should not handle any sick or dead birds on their property unless necessary, she added.
According to the VDH’s Crawford, the current public health risk in the United States is low, though people with recreational or job-related exposure to birds and other animals are at a higher risk.
Mike Wallace, the director of communications for the Virginia Department of Agriculture, said poultry owners should take precautions to protect their flocks.
“Given the prevalence of the virus in the wild bird population, all poultry owners (commercial and backyard) are encouraged to practice maximum biosecurity,” Wallace wrote in an email.
