# 2068
Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has always been a bit reluctant to test small numbers of dead birds for the H5N1 virus, but it still comes as a bit of a surprise when 7 dead swans don't rate a second look.
After all, swans have been viewed as sentinel birds for avian flu, and earlier this year the Abbotsbury Swannery saw a small but steady progression of dead Swans infected with the bird flu virus.
Over the past couple of days 7 dead swans have been detected in Caernarfon, a town in Gwynedd, northwest Wales.
After initially declining to test the dead swans, and telling the harbor master to `safely bag up the birds in black bin liners and throw them into a waste bin', Defra has now agreed to test these birds for the avian flu virus.
Swans tested for bird flu in Caernarfon
Jun 13 2008
by Hywel Trewyn, Daily Post
BIRD flu tests will be carried out today on seven swans found dead in a river near Caernarfon.
The carcasses were discovered floating in the Seiont not far from the town’s historic castle.
Locals alerted harbour master Richard Jones on Wednesday, and his team recovered three dead swans in the morning, followed by four more in the afternoon.
Yesterday the team were back at the riverbank after residents reported another swan appeared to be ill.
Mr Jones said he was initially advised by Defra that the government would not test for bird flu in cases involving less than 10 dead wild birds.
He was advised to safely bag up the birds in black bin liners and throw them into a waste bin.
But last night the Welsh Assembly confirmed experts would test the carcasses today, as part of the avian flu surveillance programme.
They stressed at this stage there was no evidence bird flu could be the cause of death.
The harbour master and his team were baffled as to how the animals had died. The Environment Agency said as there were no dead fish in the river, it was not believed they had been poisoned.
