‘Bodies piling up’ as suspected bird flu kills dozens of UK swans | UK | News
Authorities are investigating a suspected bird flu outbreak after discovering dozens of dead swans (stock) (Image: Getty)
Authorities are reportedly investigating a suspected bird flu outbreak after discovering dozens of dead swans floating in waterways around London’s Canary Wharf financial district this weekend.
The Canal and River Trust, which manages England and Wales’ historic canal network, recorded 24 swan carcasses at the West India and Millwall Docks on Saturday and Sunday alone; Additionally, other birds were reported dead earlier in the week.
Officials from the waterways charity are said to have warned the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) about the mass death.
Bird flu is considered the most likely explanation, but tests have not yet confirmed the cause.
Members of the public were told to report dead birds if they saw them, but were warned not to touch or pick up the bodies.
Decline after population recovery
The sudden deaths mark a grim reversal for London’s swan community, which is just starting to recover after years of decline.
The annual census last July showed the population number rising again after falling steadily from 2022; This decline has been attributed to previous waves of bird flu and violent human attacks on protected birds using catapults and air guns.
Originally built as London’s first commercial dock system, the West India Docks complex ceased operations in 1980 before developers reimagined the derelict site as the glittering Canary Wharf business centre.
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Volunteer warns true scale could be worse
A volunteer working on local swan rescue operations told The Times the death toll had already surpassed 30, pointing to what he described as a “serious bird flu outbreak” concentrated on the Isle of Dogs peninsula below Canary Wharf.
“We literally have bodies piled up,” he said. “There is an artificial island used by swans. It all started when two people died there. When we came to collect the bodies, there were five people there. We encounter a constant stream of dead or deceased birds.
“I haven’t had much experience with bird flu. There was an outbreak a few years ago, but it wasn’t as contagious or lethal.”
Bird flu is considered the most likely explanation (Image: Getty)
Citizens were told to report dead birds if they saw them. (Image: Getty)
Social media posts showed early warning signs
Local residents began uploading images of swan carcasses adrift in the water to neighborhood Facebook pages starting Tuesday, several days before a reported spike in deaths over the weekend.
According to the Times, a spokesperson for CRT said: “We had been aware of the carcasses since the weekend.
“We’ve had to employ our specialist contractors to remove the carcasses from the water. “We don’t know the real cause at the moment, so authorities will be carrying out tests to find out why so many people died.
“Our advice now is that if anyone else sees another carcass or dead swan, we tell people to report it and not rescue them themselves.”
Conservationists at the London Wildlife Trust estimate Greater London’s total swan population is around 8,500 birds spread across the capital’s rivers, canals and reservoirs.
