The past year has been a hard one on the wildlife of Guthrie County.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Jeremy King says that while many may be thinking of deer being affected by epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) and chronic wasting disease (CWD), another big one was avian bird flu. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio what people should do if they come across birds with the disease.

“If you want to remove a bird that you suspect has died or is sick from avian flu, make sure you use rubber gloves, put them in a plastic bag, double bag them if they’re dead, obviously. And you can put those in the trash system.”

King mentions that unfortunately, this is one of those cases that there is nothing that the DNR can do to help the birds, but monitor them to try and keep the disease from spreading. He adds that cold weather is worse, as many birds may huddle together for warmth.