15 dead swans as bird flu confirmed in East Cork
Kieran O'Sullivan at Loughaderra lake, Castlemartyr, East Cork, with the carcasses of dead swans. Picture: Larry Cummins
Bird flu has been confirmed at a lake in East Cork but 15 dead swans were left there decomposing for days “while authorities debated responsibility for their removal".
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said on Friday that a case of HPAI avian influenza (H5N1) was confirmed on March 11 from a dead bird found in Co Cork by the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory.
Four dead swans were collected at Loughaderra lake outside Castlemartyr on March 3, of which at least one is understood to have tested positive for bird flu.
When 11 dead swans were reported there on Thursday, they were not removed.
At least 15 dead swans were seen there on Friday.
Kieran O’Sullivan, who lives locally and is involved with Ballintotis Community Council, which volunteers to protect and improve the lake, said that no authorities have taken responsibility for removing the dead birds.
The department said it is the local authority’s responsibility to collect dead birds on public land, or the landowner’s responsibility if they are on private land.
Cork City Council said the birds are on private land, so it is not its jurisdiction.
The birds are all likely infected with bird flu, so must be disposed of carefully and incinerated, to prevent the disease’s spread, Mr O’Sullivan said.
The local community do not have hazmat suits and do not know how to incinerate the birds themselves, he said.
“It's a contaminated bird, it's not a bird that died of natural causes or a bird that was shot or injured. So Joe Soap landowners or anyone are not meant to touch those birds which are contaminated with a disease.
“And there are 15 dead swans which probably weigh 8kg-9kg each.
“I’ve been reaching out to Inland Fisheries to the Department of Agriculture, Cork County Council, Birdwatch Ireland, National Parks and Wildlife. And everyone is pointing the finger, saying ‘not our job.’”
He added: "Fifteen dead birds were just left there while authorities debated responsibility for their removal.”
The swans which have contracted the virus die slow, painful deaths, said Mr O’Sullivan.
Others peck themselves to death, he said.
“I saw one fall sideways into the water. They were turning and twisting in the water for about 30 seconds, lifted up their head, and then they started pecking themselves and drawing blood and basically bled out.
“It’s very distressing.”
Mr O’Sullivan said he is concerned that the decomposing carcasses may infect the water system.
“Loughaderra is linked underground to the Dower River, where a drinking water treatment plant operated by Uisce Éireann is located.
“Water from the lake also flows west through a stream into Ballybutler Lake before continuing into the Dungourney River near Irish Distillers in Midleton and eventually reaching Cork Harbour.”
When he raised his concern about possible pollution of the public water system, Mr O’Sullivan said he was told that “public water is treated anyway".
Mr O’Sullivan said Ballintotis Community Council has worked hard to improve and preserve the lake.
Clearing weeds from the lake resulted in a major increase in birdlife there last year.
“But that is now under threat,” he said.
“Over the past week and a half, residents began noticing unusual behaviour among swans on the lake, with several birds appearing lethargic and visibly distressed.
"As their condition worsened, a number of swans died and the incidents were reported to the Department of Agriculture in accordance with official reporting procedures," he said.
But the dead birds have not been moved.
For the volunteers who have spent years restoring the lake’s ecosystem, the situation has become a worrying example of how environmental and public health issues can become complicated when responsibility between agencies remains unclear, Mr O’Sullivan said.
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