After returning from Thanksgiving break, officials and students from St. Bernadette’s School at Locust Lake Road witnessed an unsettling scene on their campus. They found the carcasses of 72 black vultures on the facility, as reported by Channel 3000. Officials of the elementary school had no idea why such a large group of vultures fell to their death. The school contacted Pierce Township Fire Chief Craig Wright for help. The Pierce Township informed the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) about the situation, but they allegedly refused to help. It was only after certain media houses reached out to ODNR that the organization agreed to collect the vultures.
ODNR’s late involvement
ODNR officials cleared the carcasses on the morning of December 5, 2025. Apparently, the organization was not interested in cleaning up the dead bodies and asked the school to handle the situation. “They were very adamant that they were not coming. There was a recommendation that you just take them, put them in a bag, double-bag them, and throw them in the garbage,” said Pierce Township Trustee Allen Freeman. They also did not want to test the birds. For several days, the dead vultures remained untouched on the ground. Wright expressed displeasure at ODNR’s nonchalant attitude.
He claimed that the situation was related to wildlife; therefore, the organization should have immediately been on the ground. Initially, when ODNR refused, Wright reached out to local public health and emergency management agencies and started making a contingency plan. The pursuit was challenging, as most of them had no clue how to deal with such a situation. “It’s a big undertaking to clean up this many dead animals when you really don’t know or have the education or expertise to deal with that issue,” Wright said. ODNR spokesperson shared that the organization does not collect dead wildlife, but is making an exception in this situation.
Reason behind the mass death
Over 200 children are enrolled in the school; hence, organizations must ensure such things do not happen. ODNR spokesperson claimed that all the vultures found dead are presumed to be positive for HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza). It is because some dead wild birds from Clermont County have already been “presumed positive” for HPAI. After such a result arrives, other dead wild birds are also “presumed positive.” This group of dead vultures is no different. ODNR sent some samples for testing to understand the reality of the situation. Experts speculate that the deaths occurred either from the flu or poisoning.
Freeman and Wright both claim that ODNR refused testing. The claim was backed by a spokesperson for Clermont County Public Health. “As is protocol in situations involving wildlife, the issue was originally reported to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which declined to test the birds,” stated public health spokesperson Krista Rose. “However, given the potential risk to public health, we worked with our state partners to arrange testing. … On Friday, Dec. 5, two birds are being delivered to a state animal laboratory for testing. We expect results back early next week,” Rose said. Freeman is worried that if the flu is the reason behind deaths, it may spread to geese and cattle in the area. It will trigger further losses, which can eventually impact humans.
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Bird testing
Experts claim that even if the flu is the reason, it is unlikely that it will affect humans on a large scale. “Transmission occurs through contact with respiratory droplets and bodily fluids from live birds. Transmission of bird flu in wildlife can increase in the spring and fall with bird migration. The current strain of H5N1 has been found in the wild and domestic bird populations since 2022 throughout the country, including Ohio,” Rose said.
Two birds were sent for testing amongst the dead vultures, which tested positive for HPAI, H5, also known as bird flu, according to Fox19. More testing will be done, but officials are claiming there is little danger to humans. “People can get sick with bird flu when they encounter infected birds or animals, but this is very rare in the United States,” the Clermont County Public Health agency says. The disease gets transmitted only when an uninfected individual interacts with the respiratory droplets or bodily fluids of the infected individual. Hence, as a precaution, civilians are advised to stay away from wildlife…