A WOMAN making a pie accidentally killed her four pet birds with the fumes from a Teflon baking tray.
Irene Clark was devastated when her parrot Charlie, cockatiel Molly and two budgies, Billy and Gregory, all died within hours of each other.
A post mortem examination on one of the birds proved inconclusive – but her vet suspects the birds were pois
oned by gases from the Teflon coating.
And yesterday the parent company of Teflon issued guidelines warning of the potential dangers.
Devastated Mrs Clark, from Hibaldstow, North Lincolnshire, said: "I put a meat pie in the oven for my dinner and I went in the room to eat it when it was hot.
"I heard the two budgies screeching and when I looked one was almost dead. Five minutes later the cockatiel started going all wobbly and 10 minutes later she was dead as well.
"Then at about 10.45pm my parrot Charlie started going funny and he died – it was awful."
Mrs Clark added: "The post mortem initially proved inconclusive, but the vet added he suspected Teflon gas could have been to blame for them all dying," she said.
"He told me gases were sometimes given off when a tray is heated up and those gases just don't stay in one room.
"It has been absolutely heartbreaking. The more people who are made aware of this thing the better."
Mrs Clark has been told she must wait for more than a week for the gas to clear before buying a new bird. Richard Norton, from the Ashby Pet Centre in Scunthorpe, said that although he had never heard of the specific dangers relating to birds and Teflon gas, their advice was to take care where fumes were present and never take birds into the kitchen.
The parent company of Teflon, DuPont, has admitted birds' respiratory systems can be damaged by overheated Teflon non-stick surfaces. But, it says, burning food is more hazardous because it emits fumes at lower temperatures.
"Veterinary experts advise keeping pet birds away from cooking and cleaning fumes.
"These fumes can be hazardous to birds because birds are small and have very sensitive respiratory systems.
"Such fumes include overheated cooking fats (oil, butter, margarine) and also overheated cookware made with Teflon non-stick coatings."
They attached a comment from Dr Karen Rosenthal, director of Special Species Medicine at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
That read: "The kitchen is riddled with hazards for pet birds – the house overall, but the kitchen in particular.
"We all know that using non-stick cookware at inappropriately high temperatures is hazardous to birds. But burning food is more hazardous because it emits fumes at lower temperatures.
"If cookware is used properly, and birds are kept out of the kitchen during the cooking process, there should be no problem with birds in the house and non-stick cookware."
