Who Killed The Birds?

We have been reading about various incidents where birds are falling off from the sky and drop dead on the ground in huge numbers in different parts of United States. Most people claimed this has something to do with the climatic changes. A while ago, on New Year's Eve more than 5000 blackbirds were found dead in Arkansas also.

Similarly, in Yankton more than 300 starlings were found dead on the streets on Monday. People thought the birds didn't migrate and so froze to death. However, it is quite clear why these birds are dead. The government poisoned them themselves because they were eating cattle feed lots and leaving waste on the equipment. The birds were poisoned 10 miles south of Yankton but they somehow managed to fly till Yankton before they dropped dead due to the poison.

USDA wildlife biologist Ricky Woods explained that a large group of starlings was causing problems in a north Nebraska cattle feedlot, eating the feed and leaving waste on both the feed and equipment. So the USDA put out DRC 1339 poison for the birds, Woods said.

"Lethal means are always a last resort," said Woods. "In this situation it's what we had to do." 

Well, I definitely think this was absolutely cruel and unnecessary. You just don't kill animals if they are troubling you like that. This is quite a cruel response and represents true materialism and cold heartedness. Authorities said that so far starlings were the only birds found dead in Yankton. They said the poisoned birds didn't pose a threat to other animals or humans. Officials estimated nearly 2,000 birds ate the poison. So, this solution has caused a lot of damage to even those birds that never did anything to those precious cattle feed lots.

Tips To Protect Your Pet Birds From Kitchen Hazards

Bird guardians need to be aware that the kitchen is the most dangerous room in the house for these special pets. Birds are highly sensitive to a variety of fumes, including aerosol sprays, smoke and cooking gas. Even heated cookware—all kinds, coated and non-stick—can emit toxins that are harmless and undetectable to us, but can kill a pet bird within minutes.

“Birds are more sensitive to respiratory irritants than other animals because of differences in their respiratory systems,” explains Dr. Camille DeClementi of the ASPCA. “The use of non-stick pans around birds is particularly dangerous, because when these pans are exposed to excessive heat they release toxic fumes. To keep birds safe, pet parents should always remove them from the kitchen while cooking and should be very careful to avoid overheating non-stick pans.”

Here are a few useful tips:

1 Always keep your pet bird out of the kitchen while cooking.

Many veterinarians urge pet owners to keep their birds in a room other than the kitchen.

2. Never pre-heat your cookware on high heat.

The fact is,any type of cookware pre-heated with cooking oils, fats, margarine or butter can harm your bird.

3. Never leave your bird and heated cookware unattended.

Sadly, fatalities can result when birds and cooking pots or pans are left together in the kitchen unattended—even for just a few minutes. Cooking fumes from any type of overheated cookware―not just non-stick―can damage a bird’s lungs with alarming speed. And if your bird is out of his cage, he might come too close to the hot burner.

4. Always turn the exhaust fan on or open a window before cooking.

It is important to make sure that your kitchen is properly ventilated. In addition to cooking fumes, birds are highly sensitive to a variety of other fumes, such as aerosol sprays, non-stick sprays, spray starch, perfumes, smoke, self-cleaning ovens and cooking gas.

5. Store toxic items out of your bird’s reach.

These include all cleaners, pesticides, mothballs and both prescription and over-the-counter medications. Some cleaning agents may cause mild stomach upset, but others can cause severe burns to a bird’s tongue, mouth and crop.

6. Keep your bird away from food and beverage items that could be dangerous. These items include:

- avocados - onions

- garlic

- chocolate in any form

- coffee (grounds, beans, chocolate-covered espresso beans)

- tea

- yeast dough

- salt

- tomato leaves and stems (green parts)

- potato leaves and stems (green parts)

- rhubarb leaves

- cigarettes and other tobacco products

- moldy or spoiled foods

- alcoholic beverages

7. Keep your bird away from kitchen appliances.

If a bird is allowed to fly free or accidentally escapes, the following kitchen appliances can prove hazardous:

- ceiling fans

- hot burners on stovetops

- open ovens

- toasters

- coffee pots

- tea kettles

- boiling water

- hot cooking oil

8. Keep your bird away from potentially toxic kitchen plants

Some of these include:

- aloe (Aloe vera)

- avocados

- Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata)

- cyclamen species

- dieffenbachia species

- English ivy (Hedera helix)

- ficus species

- kalanchoe species

- madagascar dragon tree (Dracaena marginata)

- philodendron species

- pothos or devil's ivy (Epipremnum aureus)

- schefflera species

- snake plant (Sansevieria trifiscata)

- tomato leaves and stems (green parts)

- potato leaves and stems (green parts)

- rhubarb leaves

Source: ASPCA

100,000 Fish Dead & 5000 Birds Fell Down From The Sky

This is a very strange development but it is true. Two natural catastrophes take place back to back in the same vicinity in USA. First, 5000 black birds dropped dead from the sky on Dec 31st. Dead birds were collected from roof tops and streets but apparently no toxin was found as the tests were taken. Surprisingly the very next day, about a 100,000 drum fish died and the dead fish were littered across a 20 mile stretch of the Arkansas River near Ozark City.

It is indeed quite a strange situation. Experts are saying that these two incidents are not connected in anyway.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens said mass “kills” of fish occur every year but he revealed that the magnitude of the latest one was unusual.

“This kill only affected one species,” he said. “If it had been caused by a pollutant it would have affected all kinds, not just drum fish.”

It is quite a disturbing incident and is obviously a sign of how our environment is going hay wire resulting in strange incidents such as these. However, the experts will investigate and reveal what was the real cause of such a back to back disasters.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/01/04/100-000-fish-die-near-town-where-5-000-blackbirds-fell-from-sky-115875-22824847/