Wild birds are dying by the thousands in the Treasure Valley because of avian flu outbreaks, according to a news release from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
The agency said Wednesday that it received reports of large numbers of dead birds — many of them geese — at Fort Boise, Lake Lowell and in Parma recently. Fish and Game health program coordinator Stacey Dauwalter said in the news release that numbers are estimated to be in the thousands, and staff are cleaning up bird carcasses in some of the areas with the largest concentrations of deaths.
Dauwalter said removing the infected carcasses is “the best option we have to reduce impacts of avian influenza.”
The U.S. has seen repeated outbreaks of bird flu in recent years, including in backyard poultry flocks in 2022 and dairies since the start of the year. Three Idaho dairies, including one in Boise, were under a state quarantine for bird flu outbreaks as recently as two weeks ago, according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting .