Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) is a strain of the avian influenza virus that primarily affects birds, particularly poultry. It has been detected in farmed mink.
An elk was spotted swimming to the island of Utö in the Finnish archipelago, marking the first sighting of the animal in 40 years.
The Food Authority noted that it might be possible that foxes are more susceptible to avian flu infections than mink. However, the agency also suggested that infection prevention protocols may not have worked as well at fox farms compared to facilities that raise mink. The authority has now confirmed avian influenza cases at a total of 42 fur farms in Finland.
The exact virus type is still being determined, but measures are being taken to protect workers and prevent transmission to humans.
The past few decades have been the most significant for the damage the mice have caused, said Dr. Anton Wolfaardt, the Mouse-Free Marion project manager. He said their numbers have increased hugely, mainly due to rising temperatures from climate change, which has turned a cold, windswept island into a warmer, drier, more hospitable home.
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — Sightings of mink are increasing around Kodiak, Alaska wildlife biologists said of the animal — a species not native to the area. The first sighting was several years ago, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported . Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist John Crye said the sightings began after he got a call from an individual who was interested in raising and farming the animals.
Some 1,600 bats found a temporary home this week in the attic of a Houston Humane Society director, but it wasn’t because they made it their roost. It was a temporary recovery space for the flying mammals after they lost their grip and plunged to the pavement after going into hypothermic shock during the city’s recent cold snap .
It could have been a golden opportunity for research and harvesting, but government inaction led to total collapse of caribou on an island off Labrador.
A hunter from B.C. is recovering from a bear mauling earlier this week. Conservation officers say the attack was predatory, meaning the bear wanted to eat the man.
The Kivalliq Inuit Association says a road connecting the Whale Tail pit project to the Meadowbank mine, near Baker Lake, will bisect a caribou migratory route and will have more frequent traffic than any other mine in Nunavut.
Officials worry about the possible transmission of pathogens between domestic sheep and goats and wild thinhorns, an issue which has caused some tension among local farmers.
Named Nakoda by locals, the bear has been seen in Yoho and Banff national parks before, but not very often.
A recent beaver catch in Baker Lake, along with this summer’s earlier beaver sighting near Kugluktuk, more than 1,000 kilometres northwest of Baker Lake, have some wondering whether beavers are expanding their range into Nunavut.
The size of a large caribou herd in Alaska's Arctic region has dropped by more 50 percent over the last three years, and researchers who have tentatively ruled out hunting and predation as significant factors for the decline are trying to determine why.
'Officers have been going for two months straight with nothing but bear conflicts'
Since November, six foxes and three dogs in Nunavut have been found to be infected with rabies. Wednesday’s fox attack brings the total to seven foxes and five dogs with likely rabies infections.
She was then driven immediately to the hospital, where she got treatment for a potential rabies infection. Over the past month, there has been an increase in fox sightings and cases of rabies in foxes in the communities of Igloolik and Iqaluit. A fox was confirmed to have rabies in Igloolik on Dec. 14, while two foxes have been reported to have rabies in Iqaluit over the past five weeks.
It appears ticks have made their way to Yellowknife - one of the blood-thirsty bugs was plucked off a dog over the weekend.
The Yukon Fish and Game Association executive director believes it's just a matter of time before a disease outbreak, such as pneumonia, could spread from domestic sheep to wild Dall sheep.
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