Last Updated 6 days by Amnon J. Jobi | Amnon Front Page

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Wildlife advocates gathered Monday at the Indiana Statehouse to call for policies to preserve the habitats for birds that migrate.

Many birds have or will be flying back to Indiana in March, and they could struggle to find a home due to habitat loss. That’s according to Indiana Audubon members.

Advocates met with Gov. Mike Braun and lawmakers about protecting their habitats from threats, including the bird flu.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources reported earlier this month that wild birds with avian influenza have been detected in 30 of the state’s 92 counties: Adams, Allen, Bartholomew, Benton, Boone, Clinton, Decatur, Gibson, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Huntington, Jackson, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Marion, Newton, Pike, Porter, Randolph, Ripley, Shelby, Starke, Tippecanoe, Union, Vanderburgh and Vermillion.

The wild bird outbreak in Indiana includes more than 1,500 sandhill crane deaths in Greene, Jackson, Jasper, LaPorte, Newton, Starke and Union counties.

A Democratic state senator from Bloomington says the bird flu impacts more than just egg prices. Minority Leader Shelli Yoder said, “Days like today when the Audubon Society is here, doing important work in conservation, doing important work in bringing awareness, and connecting the dots of how the price of eggs can be connected to the loss of biodiversity, climate change, the loss of wetlands in the state of Indiana, these issues connect.”

Indiana Audubon is pushing legislation for conservation efforts and investments in habitats across the state.

Avian influenza has caused nearly 7 million bird deaths on Indiana farms so far in 2025.

This story was created in part from a script aired on WISH-TV.

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