Brevard Zoo Re-Opens Bird Experience After Closing in February Due to Avian Influenza
By Space Coast Daily // June 7, 2022
During the past few months, brevard zoo's animal care staff have worked extra hard to take care of their birds
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – We are pleased to let you know that our aviaries have reopened with a few small changes to keep our bird family safe.
We closed all bird experiences back in February to protect our birds as cases of avian influenza (HPAI) were found in Brevard County.
During the past few months, our animal care staff have worked extra hard to take care of our birds while they were in quarantine habitats and closely monitored each individual’s behavior.
While our team observed and cared for all our birds, we continued to monitor cases of HPAI in the area to determine when it would be safe to reopen our aviaries.
Although HPAI is still being detected in wild bird populations in Brevard County, we feel that with safety measures in place, we can reopen the aviaries.
For the time being, the aviaries will be open for feeding only to limit the number of guests in this area. This means that guests will only be permitted to walk through the areas after purchasing seed sticks or nectar cups to feed the lorikeets and cockatiels. Booties must be worn over guests’ shoes while in the aviaries and will be provided by the Zoo at time of purchase of seed sticks or nectar cups.
In addition, a maximum of 10 guests will be permitted in the cockatiel aviary at a time and 20 guests in the lorikeet aviary.
These changes are temporary and may be modified as we continue to monitor avian influenza. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make decisions for our animals’ safety and wellbeing.
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy seeing the aviaries again on your next Zoo visit.
