Whether you operate a large zoo or run a home-based 

wildlife rehabilitation facility, you can take steps to protect 

captive wild birds and yourself from highly pathogenic 

avian influenza (HPAI) and other infectious diseases. Use 

the checklist below to consider how you could strengthen 

biosecurity practices at your facility. Be sure to involve 

facility management, curators, avian care staff, attending 

veterinarians, and volunteers in the planning process. State 

animal health and wildlife agencies may also be able to give 

you site-specific recommendations.

As you work through the questions below, consider which 

biosecurity measures you can put in place right away and 

those you will adopt over time. You should also review 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 

hierarchy of controls (cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hierarchy), 

which ranks potential biosecurity solutions from the most to 

the least effective.

Biosecurity Checklist 

Taking in New Birds

 What is your facility’s quarantine period for new birds? 

(The incubation period for avian influenza can be up to 

14 days.)

 Is your quarantine area adequate? Have you considered 

issues such as ventilation, food prep separation, and 

staff traffic?

 Is the triage (intake examination) area separated from 

general avian areas? For example, it could be outdoors 

or in a separate building, have a separate entrance, or 

allow only designated staff to enter.

 What personal protective equipment, cleaning and 

disinfection, and staff decontamination protocols are 

used in the triage area?

 Are some types of birds, such as waterfowl, shore birds, 

and sick birds, not accepted?

 If birds are euthanatized at triage, how are carcasses 

managed?

 Are diagnostic samples taken at triage or intake? What 

diseases are you testing for, and which laboratories are 

you sending samples to? 

Separating Captive Birds From Free-Ranging Wild Birds

 Do collection birds share ponds or lakes with free-ranging 

wild birds?

 Do free-ranging wild birds have access to feed or feeding 

areas?

 Can you keep collection birds inside or move them to 

more protected habitats? How long can birds stay inside 

without undue stress?

 Are there free-ranging collection birds, such as pea fowl, 

golden pheasants, chickens? Can they be contained, 

moved inside, or moved offsite? 

 For avian habitats with outdoor pools or ponds, do you 

use flagged horizonal grids, fencing, netting, or other 

measures to keep free-ranging wild birds away? 

Compartmentalization

 Can you establish physical and/or functional barriers 

(compartments) between different bird populations, such 

as raptors, waterfowl, penguins, conservation critical 

species, educational birds, birds in flight cages, juvenile 

birds, and others? Compartmentalization could include 

physical structures, food prep, supplies, ventilation, 

staffing, visitor traffic, or other areas or activities.

 What are the protocols for moving staff or materials 

between compartments?

Detecting and Managing Illness

 Are staff and/or volunteers actively observing captive wild 

birds (i.e., behavior, appetite, activity, drinking, feces, etc.) 

each day? Are their observations recorded and reported?

 What is the notification process when illness or other signs 

are detected?

 Is there a treatment area with isolation capabilities? What 

personal protective equipment and access procedures do 

facility personnel use?

 Do attending veterinarians necropsy animals that die 

unexpectedly or submit them to diagnostic laboratories?

 Does the attending veterinarian consider HPAI in 

differential diagnoses? Is there a written protocol for 

contacting the State Veterinarian for potential cases of 

HPAI and similar diseases?

Protecting Captive Wild Birds From Highly Pathogenic 

Avian Influenza 

Animal Care Tech Note
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. www.aphis.usda.gov/animal-welfare AC-22-008 ▪ Issued March 2022

 What is the process for disposing of dead birds or 

hazardous infectious materials?

 What avian vaccines, if any, are used at the facility? 

(There are no HPAI vaccines approved for use in the 

United States.)

Supply Chain Risk

 Are random source birds (such as euthanized or 

hunter-killed wild birds) fed to other birds (such as 

convalescing raptors)? 

 Do you purchase poultry-based or whole-bird products 

(such as packaged chicken or frozen whole chicks 

or quail) for feeding? What is the source of those 

products? What disease screening occurs at the source 

(e.g., National Poultry Improvement Plan certification)?

 Where do delivery vehicles unload (for example, outside 

the fence, supply area, or other location)? Do they ever 

approach animal habitat areas? Do delivery vehicles 

also service other bird facilities? Is there a delivery 

vehicle wash area at your facility? Do drivers get out 

of the vehicles?

Risk To or From Staff, Volunteers, and Visitors

 Does the facility have a written biosecurity plan and 

procedures?

 Do employees and volunteers receive biosecurity 

training? 

 Do employees and volunteers change into dedicated 

work clothing/outerwear onsite? Is work-provided clothing 

laundered onsite, or is it taken home with employees?

 What personal protective equipment (such as boots, 

gloves, coveralls, and masks) do you provide? 

 Are staff and volunteers, especially those who work 

around conservation critical birds, allowed to keep poultry 

or pet birds at home? Do staff engage in sport hunting of 

wild birds?

 Do staff or volunteers bring home-produced eggs into the 

facility for sale or trade?

 If the attending veterinarian is an offsite contractor, do 

they treat birds at other locations? What precautions do 

they take when visiting your facility?

 Are there protocols (such as showering, changing 

clothes, or avoiding bird contact for 72 hours) for 

people who visit other captive wild bird facilities or 

poultry premises?

 Are avian care staff at zoos allowed to volunteer at 

wildlife rehabilitation facilities?

 Are staff asked to stay home if sick?

 Are staff encouraged to follow CDC guidelines for 

preventing seasonal human influenza? Are staff and 

volunteers asked to notify their physician of their bird 

contact if they develop serious respiratory infections?

 Are there measures in place (such as barriers, glass 

windows) that keep visitors from having close contact 

with birds? 

 During times of high HPAI risk, are visitors asked to 

stay away if they hunt wild birds or have contact with 

commercial poultry, backyard flocks, or sick birds?

 Are visitors asked to not enter if showing signs of 

respiratory illness?

Environmental Risk

 What other avian populations or facilities are near 

your premises?

 Are there any wild bird natural habitats, particularly 

riparian habitats, near the facility?

 Are there any commercial poultry, backyard flocks, or 

other captive wild bird facilities nearby? How far away are 

they? What is the prevailing wind direction?

 Could streams, canals, flooding, or surface water bring 

HPAI-contaminated water into your facility?

 Are there persistent wet, cool areas at the facility that 

could harbor the HPAI virus for longer periods of time? 

What can be done to mitigate those areas?

Cleaning and Disinfection

 Do you have written cleaning and disinfection procedures? 

 Are all new staff and volunteers trained in cleaning and 

disinfection?

 Do procedures account for porous surfaces (such as 

wood, concrete, dirt, or plants) that may be hard to clean 

and even harder to disinfect?

 What disinfectant(s) are used? Are they approved by the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use against 

avian influenza? Go to www.epa.gov and search “avian 

influenza disinfectants.”

 Are cleaning and disinfection practices monitored 

and enforced?

For More Information

To learn more about HPAI, go to www.aphis.usda.gov

and search “avian influenza.” Search “HPAI response” 

to learn how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

responds to HPAI outbreaks or “defend the flock” to see 

more biosecurity resources.