HENRY COUNTY, Ga — Highly criticized Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary will remain closed until Feb. 1, 2023, according to an update on its website.

Since mid-August, investigators with the state’s Department of Natural Resources have been monitoring the bird flu outbreak at Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary.

The sanctuary, which houses more than 1,500 animals in Locust Grove, Georgia, has been closed since mid-August.

The facility plans to remain closed throughout the rest of 2022 and into 2023 after being affected by bird flu that killed wild vultures roosting there, part of an outbreak that has led to millions of deaths in commercial and backyard flocks nationwide.

Noah’s Ark said euthanized birds included peacocks, peahens, emus, ostrich, Guinea fowl, chickens, turkeys and geese, one owl, one crow and one sandhill crane.

Officials at Noah’s Ark have confirmed that all these bird species, believed to be a threat to the spread of bird flu, have been euthanized.

The sanctuary says it is not accepting any community service during this time.

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