Bird flu spreads in 15 of 33 Raj districts, Jaipur zoo shut

Jaipur, Jan 12 (IANS) Bird flu has spread its tentacles to 15 of the 33 districts in Rajasthan, with over 3,000 birds found dead in the state till date, officials said on Tuesday. Jaipur zoo has been closed following the death of four birds.

Chief Wildlife Warden Mohanlal Meena said that four Black Starks and a few ducks were found dead on Monday at the zoo, following which the zoo was sanitised and closed. A few birds were also found ill. Their samples have been sent to a Bhopal lab for tests.

Bird flu or avian influenza was confirmed in the districts of Jaipur, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Chittorgarh, Pali, Baran, Kota, Banswara, Sirohi and Pratapgarh. On Monday, bird flu was confirmed in Tonk and Karauli as well.

In the last 24 hours, 264 more crows were found dead, taking the total crows that died of suspected bird flu till date in the state to around 2,500. In all, 180 peacocks, 190 pigeons too have died in Rajasthan.