Toronto Zoo closes aviaries after bird flu detected in southern Ontario

The Toronto Zoo has closed its aviaries after bird flu was detected in southern Ontario.

The zoo made the announcement in a series of tweets on Monday, saying it is “committed to the health and safety of the animals in our care.”

The Toronto Zoo said it is taking “proactive steps” to protect its birds from the avian influenza that has been “confirmed in a wild bird in southern Ontario.”

“By limiting access to the aviaries to only Zoo staff, we protect them from any contamination that may come from outside of the Zoo,” the zoo wrote in a tweet.

The walk-through aviaries in the zoo’s pavilions will be closed to guests, or will be “significantly modified,” the zoo said.

“Guests will be re-directed in the pavilions to manage guest flows,” a tweet reads.

2:15 Toronto reopens zoos, farms, pools and other outdoor amenities

The move comes after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported that bird flu had been detected at a poultry farm in southern Ontario.

The agency said the farm is under a strict quarantine, and the CFIA is establishing movement controls and recommending higher biosecurity at nearby farms.

It says it confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu that is spreading around the world among wild birds.

Earlier this month the agency confirmed avian flu had been found in a wild red-tailed hawk in Waterloo, Ont.

— with files from The Canadian Press