Wild birds poisoned
Longmont, CO (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Oct 26, 2005
County: Boulder
Disposition: Open
Case Images: 1 files available
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
About two dozen wild birds died Oct 26 near the Countryside Village mobile home park in Longmont, victims of what public health and animal control officers said was a potent poison.
Indiscriminately killing birds is illegal in Longmont. The birds all appeared to be grackles, an all-black species known for large flocks.
A Daily Times-Call reporter watched as apparently healthy birds quickly lost their ability to fly, crashed to the ground, then flapped helplessly, began convulsing and died.
Officials stressed that the birds appear to have been poisoned and were not stricken by anything exotic, such as Asian bird flu or West Nile virus.
Several government agencies, including the Longmont Fire Department, Longmont Animal Control and Boulder County Public Health, responded to the area where the birds died, the intersection of Quebec Avenue and South Collyer Street.
The concerted response was intended to quickly determine whether there was a public health risk from either a gas leak, a downed electric line or a transmissible disease.
"This is not bird flu," said Michael Richen, an environmental health specialist with Boulder County Public Health. "It acted just like a poison."
Because all symptoms appeared to point toward poison, Richen and Longmont Animal Control officers were unable to persuade the state to conduct a necropsy on one of the dead birds after they conferred at around noon.
Earlier, however, the situation worried officials.
"I've got a bunch of dead birds, a lot of dead birds," Longmont Fire Battalion Chief Lynn Huff told county health officials by phone. "They're falling out of the sky."
Animal control officer Robin Breffle said it was likely the birds consumed the poison nearby, but she said the source was not immediately apparent.
She said she planned to continue investigating. References« CO State Animal Cruelty Map
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