The once familiar sight of wild chickens roaming the campus grounds has all but vanished. Some administrators said that there were health concerns over the animals’ presence on campus.

“The birds’ population decrease last year was from natural causes, but last May, the Board of Trustees found them to be health concerns, wild animals spreading disease,” said Ann Reed, vice president of public affairs.

“With the West Nile Virus and other illnesses like SARS and bird flu, you do not want a large flock of chickens around. The diseases make the chickens less desirable to have on campus.”

The CSU Board of Trustees approved a revision of safety policy on CSU campuses last January. One of the safety concerns involved the possibility of students getting sick by wild life and other animals, specifically with feces and sanitation issues.

“Nothing has been said about removing the wild life that naturally exists on campus,” said Colleen Bentley, director of public affairs for California State University, Long Beach. “The policy is directed towards people who bring their dogs and other pets onto campus and who don’t clean up after them.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said the bird flu is affecting bird populations worldwide and human cases have been reported. The outbreak of bird flu was confirmed among poultry in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and a few other countries, and killed six people in Hong Kong in 1997.

The center reports the flu to rarely infect humans.

According to the CDC Web site, the virus is spread through saliva, nasal fluids and feces of infected birds. Bird flu experts say birds contract the illness when they come into contact with contaminated excretions, also believing that most cases of human infections result from contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces.

Steve Garcia, vice president of administration, said no orders have been issued to remove the chickens. When asked how he felt about the animals sharing space with the university’s human inhabitants, Garcia stood on both sides of the issue.

“The chickens present some challenges on campus,” Garcia said. “Chickens could be hurt by students and, since I own a farm, I know that if chickens aren’t taken care of, they can become health concerns.”