Very deadly year for wild birds

Last summer alone, perhaps more than 50,000 seagulls died of bird flu in our country. There were many more seagull victims than ever in every seaside resort.

Bird flu and the treatment of sick and dying animals in particular therefore made for a particularly tough year for the team at the Ostend shelter. While in other years about 600 gulls are brought in, this year it quickly went to 1,400 gulls. But the blue-green algae have also wreaked havoc in the West Flemish population of wild birds.