March 20, 2023 update: The Fur-Bearers received information in February about numerous skunks found dead or dying in the Richmond area that exhibited symptoms of poisoning. Based on the information at the time, we issued a news release drawing attention to the suspected poisonings and contacted authorities to investigate. The Government of British Columbia tested several skunks associated with this group and found they had been infected with Avian Influenza, H5N1. Read the government’s March 13 statement here. The province confirmed with The Fur-Bearers that there was no evidence of poisoning in the skunks they had tested and that highly pathogenic avian influenza was the cause of death. The previous information on this page has been removed to reduce confusion into this event.
