Bird flu? Dead peacocks found in Mohali village

The forest department on Monday found carcasses of a peacock and two peahens at Daun village in SAS Nagar, raising fears about the possible breakout of bird (avian) flu in the area.

The forest department on Monday found carcasses of a peacock and two peahens at Daun village in SAS Nagar, raising fears about the possible breakout of bird (avian) flu in the area.

Villagers carrying dead peacocks at Daun village in SAS Nagar on Tuesday. (HT File Photo)

Villagers have claimed that the number of dead peacocks was nearly 30. The forest department has ordered a probe into the incident.

The department has sent the dead birds for post-mortem to Jalandhar to ascertain the cause of their death. A case under section 9 of the wildlife Protection Act and has been registered.

“Nothing can be said about the cause of death till we receive the post-mortem report,” said SAS Nagar divisional forest officer (DFO) Harbhajan Singh.

“Our team is carrying out search in the area. We have collected samples of sand for testing,” he said.