Zoo's flamingos moved as bird flu cases rise in Jersey

Durrell has made the decision following advice from Jersey's government. Credit: ITV Channel

The flamingos at Jersey Zoo have been moved indoors again as bird flu cases rise in the island.

The public will no longer be able to see the birds due to the precautionary measure.

Durrell have made the decision following advice from Jersey's government.

The walk-through bird enclosures at the Zoo will still be open the public.

Visitors are asked to use the disinfectant foot dips at the entrances to prevent any spread of the disease.

Bird Flu: Your Questions Answered

What is bird flu?

Avian flu is highly infectious and mainly affects birds, although in very rare cases it can transfer to humans and other animals.

The virus is spread through bodily fluids such as saliva and droppings.

It is often passed on by wild birds that migrate from Europe during winter and can be very dangerous for poultry and domestic birds.

How is it spread?

Birds can be infected with the avian influenza virus through contact with infected saliva, nasal secretions or faeces.

Wild birds including waterfowl are often more resistant to avian influenza than domestic birds and can carry and transmit the virus without showing evidence of disease.

Everyone, at all times but especially now, should take care to maintain good hygiene when feeding garden birds – regularly cleaning feeders outside with mild disinfectant, removing old bird-food, spacing-out feeders as much as possible and washing your hands.  

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What risk is there to humans?

There is a very low risk of humans catching bird flu.

It usually requires close and regular contact with an infected bird.

A man from South West England was infected in January 2022 but public health officials stressed the risk to the wider public remains very low.

More on the disease:

Bird flu, or avian flu, is an infectious type of influenza that spreads among birds. In rare cases, it can affect humans.

There are lots of different strains of bird flu virus.

Most of them don't infect humans, but there are 4 strains that have caused concern in recent years:

  • H5N1 (since 1997)

  • H7N9 (since 2013)

  • H5N6 (since 2014)

  • H5N8 (since 2016)

It is strain H5N1 that is currently spreading in the UK

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