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The strange death of 62 geese in a Seville park has put the spotlight on the maintenance and control of wildlife in its green spaces.
Initial analyses rule out water contamination, and the mayor of Seville suggests an outbreak of avian disease, pending final results.
Eva Saiz
Seville - SEP 01, 2025 - 08:54 EDT
The appearance of up to 62 dead geese in the lagoon of Seville's Tamarguillo Park has put the City Council on alert, closing the 100-hectare site as a precaution. It has sent samples of both the birds and the water to various laboratories to confirm the cause of these sudden deaths, along with necropsies. This anomalous succession of deaths has also put a spotlight on the maintenance and oversight the city government provides to urban parks and gardens and the wildlife that lives there. "We have been warning for some time about the lack of conservation and oversight of this and other parks in the city," emphasizes Ricardo Molinero, president of the Association for the Protection and Promotion of Wildlife in Tamarguillo Park Alcosa.
This Saturday, the City Council confirmed the appearance of more dead geese in the Tamarguillo Park lagoon, adding to the twenty or so specimens found in the same condition over the past week, forcing the closure of the park to the public as a precaution. A total of 62 dead geese have been recorded, although some ducks have also been found, which also nest in the area, although in much smaller numbers, according to Molinero. The dead Tamarguillo geese were added to the five ducklings and a pigeon that were found floating lifeless in the Lotus Fountain, a pond in María Luisa Park. "From the very beginning, a monitoring protocol has been activated, which includes the collection of specimens, water analysis, and necropsies to rigorously determine the causes, while we continue to feed all the birds in the park," emphasized the Municipal Delegate for Parks and Gardens, Evelia Rincón, over the weekend.
These analyses are being conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, the University of Córdoba, and accredited veterinary clinics.
Municipal sources have confirmed to this newspaper that preliminary analyses of the water, both from the Tamarguillo Park lagoon and the María Luisa Park pond, rule out the possibility that the birds' deaths were due to poor quality. "There are no traces of heavy metals or positive results, nor have cyanobacteria been found, and the organic matter is at levels suitable for the animals," these sources state, emphasizing that this is a preliminary report and that they must await the final results, as well as the results of the necropsies.
The Seville College of Veterinarians, which collaborates with the Ministry of Agriculture, is one of the entities performing necropsies to rule out "any disease that is anthopozoonosis," meaning one that is transmitted from humans to birds, such as avian influenza, for example, as its president, Santiago Sánchez-Apellániz, explains to this newspaper. "In birds, it is very difficult to make a diagnosis based on necrosis alone, because the symptoms are always similar: ruffled feathers, fever, loss of laying eggs, loss of food, and they usually lead to sudden deaths," the veterinarian explains. Until a differential diagnosis is made, it will not be possible to determine what disease, if any, may have caused this concentration of deceased geese.
Over the past week, various hypotheses have been considered, such as a lack of oxygen in the lagoon water due to the heat and the accumulation of excrement in the depths from a lack of regular cleaning. "In other years, we've seen many dead fish come to the surface because they lack oxygen from animal excrement. The high temperatures, which this summer exceeded 40ºC, cause these gases to evaporate," Molinero says. The City Council ruled out this hypothesis from the outset in the case of the geese, understanding that, if this were the case, other species, such as fish, frogs, and turtles, would have also died, but that hasn't been the case. The Mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz, noted during an interview on the program Hoy por Hoy Sevilla on Cadena Se r, that everything seems to indicate an outbreak of a disease typical of this type of animal.
If the laboratory results ultimately confirm the presence of influenza, the president of the Seville College of Veterinarians calls for calm. "We know this virus is circulating in wild animals; we have an outbreak in Huelva that has already affected the Sevillian town of Aznalcázar. There are many outbreaks of avian influenza that have already been declared throughout the country; the important thing is that they have not been transmitted to livestock farms," he explains.
No census, no food plan, and no surveillance
PACMA also prefers to be cautious and await the results of the necropsies and other analyses, but they draw attention to a long history of lack of attention and oversight of urban parks by the Seville City Council . "Last year, there was also a very high mortality rate of birds in the Lotus Fountain, a pond in María Luisa Park, where around 13 birds were found, including chicks and adult ducks, pigeons, and even a baby swan," recalls Clara Márquez, provincial coordinator in Seville for the animal rights group. "The City Council also said they had analyzed the water and that the problem wasn't there, but we haven't been able to access that report," she warns.
Márquez draws attention to the lack of a comprehensive plan to address the maintenance and monitoring of Seville's urban parks and the species that live there. "There is no municipal census of birds and other species; there is also no feeding protocol, and the city's animals are the municipal responsibility, regardless of whether they are protected by law," warns the Pacma official, who also points out the lack of awareness among the public who feed the birds, without truly knowing whether what they are giving them could be harmful to their health. "But it is also a fact that the City Council does not feed the animals," she adds.
Pacma also calls for the appointment of a specialist from the Parks and Gardens Department to be specifically responsible for monitoring the needs of the wildlife residing in urban parks. "It's an ecosystem within the city," emphasizes Márquez, who also calls for the installation of natural water treatment plants in the lagoons of the city's green spaces, albeit in the medium and long term.
Molinero emphasizes this greater need for the council to better maintain urban parks in Tamarguillo. "Rats are running rampant, attracted by the barbecues that are regularly held, and there's also a large proliferation of rabbits and hares that need to be contained, otherwise they can also spread disease," he warns. "As there isn't even basic maintenance, these circumstances can't be addressed," he warns.
The president of the Association for the Protection of Wildlife in Tamarguillo Park, a forested area and a green lung in the Alcosa district, also calls for increased surveillance to prevent vandalism. "You only see one patrol car go by, and you don't see anything else go by," he complains. City Hall emphasizes that since February, surveillance has been reinforced in 14 parks in the city, adding two additional patrols between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., during weekends and holidays, in addition to the five patrols and 10 night watchmen currently on duty between 9 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.
https://elpais.com/espana/andalucia...ntrol-de-la-fauna-de-sus-espacios-verdes.html
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Seville closes Tamarguillo Park due to an outbreak of bird flu that has already killed 68 geese.
Analysis has confirmed the disease in birds and further studies are awaited to determine the level of pathogenicity and virulence.
Teresa López PavónSeville
Seville
UpdatedTuesday, September 2, 2025 - 1:55 PM
Up to 68 geese have died in recent weeks in Seville's Tamarguillo Park, in the eastern district of the city, near the Alcosa neighborhood. The cause, according to the City Council on Tuesday, is an outbreak of avian flu, confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture's laboratory in Algete (Madrid). The laboratory is conducting new analyses to determine the virus's pathogenicity and the type of variant, in order to assess its risk and virulence.
The Seville City Council is awaiting these results in order to implement the necessary protocols, in agreement with the Ministries of Environment, Health, and Agriculture, it has announced.
The first dead birds appeared exactly one week ago, and six more dead geese were added this Tuesday, bringing the total number of dead birds to 68.
Since the mortality became known, the City Council decreed the preventive closure of Tamarguillo Park and sent samples of the pond water and necropsies to several official bodies and universities. According to the municipal government, this has ruled out, according to the municipal government, the possibility of the water being the source of the birds' fatal disease, "since no heavy metals, pesticide residues, or multi-residue phytosanitary products have been detected." "Nor have any signs of cyanobacteria been observed a priori, and the level of organic matter is within adequate levels."
In any case, the results of the autopsy are still pending, and will take about 20 days.
The Ministry of Agriculture was also asked to collaborate in analyzing the samples to confirm or rule out diseases such as avian flu or Newcastle disease.
The appearance of the first dead birds prompted complaints from the opposition, who pointed to a lack of maintenance and oxygenation of the parks' waters as a possible cause of the epidemic. However, according to the municipal government, preliminary results have ruled out that hypothesis.
Even so, the City Council has announced the launch of a specific contract for the management of urban wildlife in all of the city's parks. This contract will now be incorporated into the regular planning already in place to assess the status of trees and green areas. Never before have these controls been systematized, the local government notes. "This is a commitment to the safety, health, and well-being of citizens, as well as to the protection of wildlife in public spaces," the council reported.
In the latest report published by the Ministry of Health on the avian flu situation in Spain, dated July 15, 2025, it was considered that "the overall risk of zoonotic influenza is very low for the general population and low for people with occupational exposure, as long as precautions and prevention measures for zoonotic influenza are observed."
In recent years, there have been periods of intense circulation of the HPAI A(H5N1) virus in wild birds in Europe, producing cases in domestic birds and even mammals, with many people exposed to sick animals and contaminated environments. However, no cases of avian influenza A(H5N1) have been confirmed in humans, the report highlights.
"Human cases infected with this virus globally are generally sporadic cases in people exposed to sick animals or contaminated environments without protection, and they have not produced secondary cases, neither in those who acquired the disease through contact with birds nor those who acquired it through contact with mammals."
Historically, Spain has had a very low number of HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) outbreaks compared to the figures reported in northern and central Europe. Since March 2023, Spain has maintained its status as a country free of notifiable avian influenza, as established in the World Organization for Animal Health (WHO) code.
In the 2024-2025 season, fewer outbreaks have been detected in birds compared to previous seasons, and so far, no cases have been detected in domestic birds, cattle, or other domestic animals, the Ministry noted in this latest report.
https://www.elmundo.es/andalucia/2025/09/02/68b6d98921efa00b298b4596.html
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The Health Department will monitor people exposed to the geese killed by avian flu in Tamarguillo.
The Ministry appeals for calm because the risk to the population is very low.
Telepress
agency
September 2, 2025, 5:32 PM
SEVILLE, 2 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs will monitor people exposed to the dead geese in Tamarguillo Park, Seville, as a result of an outbreak of avian flu, and will identify those found in this situation, according to sources from the Ministry told Europa Press, although the risk to the public is considered "very low." This comes after the City Council reported the results of tests conducted following the appearance of these birds.
To monitor this Notifiable Disease, the Andalusian Regional Government has both animal and human surveillance systems, "in order to quickly detect outbreaks of influenza and implement appropriate control measures." In the case of human surveillance, this consists, among other measures, of the identification, evaluation, and ten-day medical follow-up of people exposed to sick or dead birds.
The Andalusian Regional Government recommends that if they find sick or dead birds in the same area, "they should not touch or handle them and should inform the local council."
Furthermore, those responsible for handling sick animals or carcasses must also follow certain recommendations: use personal protective equipment (gloves and masks) and get vaccinated against seasonal flu annually, the same sources add.
Avian influenza viruses frequently circulate among birds and can occasionally be transmitted to people who come into contact with sick birds or in contaminated environments. In this regard, the Board recalls, 985 cases of the H5N1 virus have been reported worldwide since 2003.
The clinical picture resembles seasonal flu and can range from asymptomatic or mild to more severe cases. Person-to-person transmission has not been reported.
https://www.teleprensa.com/articulo...guillo-gripe-aviar/202509021532282206705.html
