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Drama in Brandenburg: Bird flu kills over 1,800 cranes!
In autumn 2025, the H5N1 bird flu will spread rapidly in Brandenburg, threatening cranes and poultry populations.
Drama in Brandenburg: Bird flu kills over 1,800 cranes!
What a worrying time for bird life in Germany! The fall of 2025 brought us one of the worst outbreaks of bird flu, namely the H5N1 virus, and cranes in particular are suffering significantly from it. According to maz-online.de, more than 1,800 cranes have died in Brandenburg, making the situation in the country dramatic. The resting areas at the Linum pond landscape are particularly affected, where over 1,000 of these elegant birds lost their lives in a bird sanctuary.
The authorities are urgently warning that the spread of the disease in Central Europe could potentially increase. Especially in Brandenburg and neighboring federal states such as North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, bird flu is becoming increasingly devastating, as deutschlandfunk.de reports. This also includes increased culling in poultry farms, with around 400,000 chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys having already been culled by the end of October for the benefit of animal populations.
Strict measures against the spread
In view of the massive outbreak, strict security measures are essential. Poultry farmers must take comprehensive precautions to protect their animals. In addition to the stable requirement, this also includes disinfection and the strict avoidance of contact between wild birds and farm poultry. If an infection is suspected, isolation and culling of the affected herds is essential. The Federal Minister of Agriculture Alois Rainer recently called for increased measures and submitted an application to the EU for higher compensation payments in order to help the affected animal farmers.
Strict monitoring of poultry farms is also necessary to contain the disease in a timely manner; Veterinary rapid tests are an important tool. As zeit.de describes, the transmission of the H5N1 virus occurred through bloody droplet infection and feces, especially when there was close contact between the birds.
A look at the cranes
The forecasts are not very encouraging: veterinarians assume that bird flu will continue to be rampant, and cranes are particularly susceptible to the virus. Virologist Martin Beer emphasizes that there could be further spread among wild birds. Although there have been deaths in Asia over the last two decades, no H5N1 infections have been detected in humans in the EU. Nevertheless, the shock remains serious, especially for animal husbandry, which is suffering from massive losses.
Although the crane population appears to be more robust than some others, both in terms of high loss rates and returns to their breeding grounds, the high mortality and burden of the virus remains an alarming sign. It is therefore all the more important that the population is asked for understanding and help - NABU has called for people not to touch dead or sick birds in order to keep the risk of further spread as low as possible.
Autumn 2025 will be marked by bird flu and will show us how vulnerable our nature and wildlife are. Let us remain vigilant and support the necessary measures to contain this epidemic so that the cranes etc. can migrate through our landscapes in a healthier way in the future.