Staff at an animal rescue centre had to cull its entire population of birds and take antiviral medication after an outbreak of bird flu this summer.

Cases of deadly avian influenza were found at Wadars, in Ferring near Worthing, earlier this year which meant the centre was shut down by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

One hundred birds were culled and staff who had been in contact with infected animals were ordered to take antiviral medication for ten days, as the disease has been known to transfer to humans.

Officials then implemented a strict cleaning regime to clear Wadars of bird flu, but it has cost the charity tens of thousands of pounds.

“We received the devastating news that the samples taken by Defra had tested positive for avian influenza, and as a result, the 100 plus birds in our care would need to be culled,” said Tracy Cadman, director of operations at Wadars.

“What is even more heartbreaking is that we were told that our PPE and biosecurity levels were very good, but still this happened.”

Tracy said that the cull has taken a toll on those working at Wadars.

“The horrific situation has hit both our staff and voluntary team members extremely hard, especially colleagues who had worked tirelessly day in, day out with the birds and other wildlife in our care,” she said.

“People who had direct contact with the birds were given a ten-day course of antiviral medication as the disease can, in rare cases, transfer to humans, and we have also been providing support for the team to enable people to talk through what happened and how it might have affected them.”

Wadars is working with Defra and specialist contractors to get rid of the disease through cleaning and disinfection.

“Due to the intricacies of the cleansing programme and the highly infectious nature of the disease, the painstaking work could take up to three months to complete at a likely cost of around £25,000,” said Tracy.

Throughout the crisis, the charity’s wildlife helpline and mobile wildlife rescue service have continued to operate and are on track to have responded to more than 1,400 calls for help from members of the public by the end of the year.

Wadars has also continued to find forever homes for a range of companion animals, which were not affected by the outbreak, and now the charity is asking for help.

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Tracy said: “The money that this bird flu outbreak is costing us would otherwise be spent on the dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and other small animals in our care as well as our community-based wildlife rescue work.

“We are appealing to people in the community that we serve to help us recoup some of that money by donating to our emergency appeal. Please help us to recover from this awful ordeal and thank you in advance for any support that you can give.”

Donations to the Wadars Emergency Appeal can either by sent via a cheque made payable to Wadars to: Wadars, Hangleton Lane, Ferring, West Sussex, BN12 6PP, or via the Wadars Just Giving page.