the bird flu from China is killing other species here in Canada
The virus has killed 1.7 million poultry birds across Canada as of the start of May
The deadly strain of avian flu ravaging Canada's poultry industry is also felling an unusual number of wild birds and has even jumped to mammals, killing a pair of juvenile foxes near St. Marys Ont., according to wildlife experts.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said that as of Thursday,at least 68 poultry farms have been affected by the virus across the country, withan estimated 1.7 million birds killed. The hardest-hit provinces are Alberta, followed by Ontario, each with 23 farms affected.
Wildlife experts say avian influenza typically only affects waterfowl, but this strain, referred to as highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, has affected a wide array of wild birds, including waterfowl, corvids (such as crows and blue jays), gulls and raptors.
The most surprising casualties to date however, have been a pair of juvenile red foxes that recently died of bird flu near St Marys.