Dead geese removed from N.J. borough’s parks test positive for bird flu, officials say

Dozens of dead geese that appeared in parts of a New Jersey borough’s parks have tested positive for the avian flu, leading local officials to keep the properties closed and ask that a popular event be moved.

Allentown Borough officials posted a notice to their website on Thursday that Dr. Farmer’s Park, Pete Sensi Park and a portion of Heritage Park will remain closed after some 30 dead geese were removed earlier this month.

Local officials were informed Thursday by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that the birds removed by a contractor tested positive for H5N1, the virus that causes the illness, said Borough Administrator Laurie Roth. The decease was suspected in the deaths earlier this month.

The virus was suspected in the deaths in Allentown, as well as several other municipalities in Monmouth County, where dead geese have appeared over the past weeks.

The parks will remain closed indefinitely, Roth said.

“We’re hoping that when it gets warmer, we’ll be able to (reopen the parks), but at this time, right now, we want to be cautious and keep the parks closed,” Roth said in a brief phone call with NJ Advance Media on Monday.

The birds were removed Feb. 4 by a contractor. The borough spent about $6,000 on removing the dead waterfowl, the lowest cost from all of the entities borough officials contacted, Mayor Thomas Fritts previously said. About 50 animal control-type businesses were contacted, he said.

Since the removal, at least three more dead birds were found and collected, Roth said.

Meanwhile, the borough asked the local Lions Foundation to relocate its popular Easter egg hunt, an annual event scheduled this year for April 12. The organization did not immediately return an emailed request for comment on the relocation.

Most of all three parks are affected by the shutdown, keeping the public from recreational activities from canoeing and fishing.

The dead birds are tied to the Conines Millpond, a body of water in the borough’s center. Geese have increasingly occupied the millpond after a habitat at Mercer Corporate Park, in nearby Robbinsville, was destroyed.

For about three weeks, dead geese gradually appeared in the park, particularly at the dam spillway, which deposits water from the millpond into a smaller body of water on the opposite side of Old York Road. The mayor estimated that upward of 20 dead geese accumulated at the spillway’s top, preventing them from going down the waterfall.

The outbreak, which began in January 2022, has led to the deaths of thousands of commercial poultry in the U.S. This trend, along with culling to curtail the virus, has contributed to higher egg prices in recent months.

New Jersey’s first case of avian influenza was found last week at a Union County market, NorthJersey.com reported. No human cases have been reported in the state, officials told the news outlet.

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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.