# 599
An editorial appeared today in NOVOSTI, the Russian News and Information Agency, decrying the government's plans to try to eradicate migratory birds to fend off avian flu.
First the editorial, then some discussion.
Has Russia declared war on birds?
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Tatyana Sinitsyna) - Many migratory birds are already heading for their summer homes in Russia. By the eternal laws of nature, birds are flying in large numbers to their nesting-places for the sake of raising a new generation.
Today, however, few people romanticize the spring return of birds because they have been discredited by the rise of avian flu.
Though ornithologists say the "guilt" of birds has not been proven, fears of a new "plague" seem to be overriding common sense. People are ready to declare a real war on wild birds. Why not? A machine-gun was once designed in the United States especially to shoot migratory passenger pigeons, and in 1899 this species of bird was successfully exterminated.
As spring arrives, there are more and more calls from various levels of Russian society to exterminate migratory birds. Alexei Zimenko, the director of the Wild Nature Center, describes such a method of preventing avian flu as "shameful, absurd and unacceptable." First, it would pose a serious threat to endangered species. Second, according to Zimenko, the massive shooting of birds would only encourage an epidemic because killed and wounded birds spread the infection. Third, such measures are very expensive: for example, the work of scare-away teams in the Novosibirsk Region alone costs 300 million rubles a year.
Flocks of birds fly mostly at night, and during the day they stop at their customary migratory places, often near water. It is here that they should be targeted, according to the recommendations. In the instructions it sent to all regional committees, the Russian Agency for Health and Consumer Rights underlines: "Take measures to prevent the nesting of migratory birds near reservoirs and at places of possible contact with poultry." The local authorities will decide which methods to use.
The same is recommended in a letter from the Russian Veterinary Supervision Agency to local authorities: "In population centers situated near the shores of reservoirs where migratory birds have nesting-places, organize measures to scare away birds to a distance of 3 to 10 kilometers from the population centers." The letter contains an important piece of advice: "use all acoustic and other methods." The latter is a clear reference to firearms.
"Besides the fact that the shooting of birds is inhumane and anti-environmental, it is also pointless. Birds are very mobile, and there are so many of them that you cannot exterminate them even if you give every Russian a gun," says Yevgeny Kuznetsov, a leading expert at the Center for the Protection of Wild Animals' Health.
First, let me state that I have no idea if this is an over reaction by some editorialist, or if authorities are really considering the nefarious plans outlined in this piece.
The idea that authorities are considering shooting down migratory birds that violate Russian Airspace sounds absurd, but this isn't the first time we've heard of such measures being contemplated. It clearly indicates just how worried some people are about the threat of avian influenza.
The good news is, the Russians are unlikely to make a huge dent in the migratory bird population using these methods. One might as well try to empty the Caspian Sea one teaspoon at a time.
The bad news is, while they would never keep avian flu out of their country this way, they could upset the balance of nature by removing a significant number of birds. No, they can't get them all, not even close. But they could get enough to change the dynamics of the eco-system.
On a purely practical level, birds eat insects. Take away the insect-eaters, and you then risk a plague of another sort. If next year's crops are threatened by an over abundance of insects, will they then be forced to use massive amounts of pesticides to save their harvest?
It's a slippery slope, with little to be gained. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.
One interesting note, further down this editorial, is a statement by Professor Yevgeny Voronin, the rector of the Skryabin Moscow Veterinary and Biotechnology Academy. Apparently in an attempt to convince people that avian flu doesn't pose a danger he states:
"Avian flu has existed for millions of years. At present, no type of animal flu is dangerous for humans. I can drink a medicine bottle of the H5N1 virus and nothing will happen to me. Students at our academy study virology and work with the live avian flu virus. I have never heard that anyone has suffered."
I don't know whether to laugh or cry over that one. I know Russians are proud of their tolerance for strong drink, but that's one experiment I wouldn't care to try.
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