The public has been warned not to touch any dead birds found around Qonce (King Williams Town).
This warning comes from the SPCA in the area where several birds were found dead by Neville Ganes, who owns a snake and reptile rescue organisation.
According to Ganes, he has found approximately 52 birds in the last two weeks.
He said he noticed that birds were dropping dead or those found alive would die shortly during his rescue efforts.
Annette Miller from the SPCA has urged the public to not touch the birds and if they have to, to use plastic or surgical gloves.
Pet owners are also warned not to feed these dead birds to their animals as their cause of death is not yet determined.
The carcasses have been sent for testing by the SPCA.
Ganes suspects that the birds could have died from either a virus or poisoning.
He says three birds, of different species, have been sent to a lab in Komani while another has been sent to a laboratory in Pretoria to determine the cause of death.
He says the results could take a week or more to come back.
A spokesperson for the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) Samkelo Ngwenya says it is difficult to speculate what the cause of death in these birds could be.
He says if the deaths occurred in just one area it could be poisoning, but if it spreads to more areas it could be a disease.
Ngwenya says at this stage it could be anything from climate change, air pollution or even migration.
He says the SPCA and Municipal Health Services are still investigating.
