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Birdwatchers want clear answers

Department of Health Deputy Director General Lee Lung-teng, left, Council of Agriculture Vice Chairman Lee Chien-chuan, second from left, and other government officials enjoy fried chicken at a press conference yesterday in a bid to assure the public that Taiwan's chickens are safe from the deadly bird flu sweeping Asia. PHOTO: YEH CHIH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

With the shadow of the deadly avian influenza hanging over the region, people need more up-to-date, correct scientific information about the infection rather than just being told to avoid birds, the World Bird Federation Taiwan (WBFT) said yesterday.

In the wake of several deaths attributed to bird flu in neighboring countries, many birdwatching activities in Taiwan have been cancelled, including a program in which children were given the opportunity to see some penguins at close quarters at a municipal zoo.

Conservationists said yesterday that the Council of Agriculture's (COA) statement that migratory birds could carry the virus is having an effect on the public's attitude toward outdoor birdwatching.

The Ministry of Education has notified schools at all levels of the danger of coming into contact with birds. The ministry suggested that schools should avoid using birds as teaching aids and take steps to prevent wild birds from gaining access to bird cages on campuses.

WBFT secretary-general Chiang Kuen-dar (江昆達) yesterday urged the public to focus on correct scientific information about the infection.

"For example, watching birds from a distance through your binoculars remains safe," according to Chiang, who stressed that people should be smart enough to avoid coming too close to birds at the moment.

Chiang said yesterday that the owners of pet birds should remain calm and not abandon their pets arbitrarily, which would only create more challenges to the nation's epidemic-prevention agencies.

Pet birds that have not been in contact with other birds for three weeks should be safe, because the incubation period of bird flu is no longer than 21 days, Chiang said.

"Of course, at the moment, we don't suggest that people trade birds," Chiang said.

Chiang said that the COA should release more information about new sources of H5N2, a weak strain of the avian flu virus, because the public is uncertain about the threat posed by birds.

Birdwatching societies in several counties have been working with the COA since 1997 to monitor the activities of migratory birds and take dropping samples.

Of the 18 sub-types of the bird flu virus that have been found in Taiwan, none belong to the H5 strain, Chiang said.

Yeh Ying (葉瑩), deputy director general of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said yesterday that sources of H5N2 remained uncertain, but that the involvement of smuggled vaccines and migratory birds could not be ruled out.

"So far, we have not discouraged outdoor birdwatching activities," Yeh said.

Meanwhile, following a meeting of the Cabinet's taskforce that has been established to prevent an avian flu outbreak, high-ranking officials from the Department of Health tucked into plates of fried chicken with COA officials at a media conference to show their confidence in domestic poultry products.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) told farmers at a ceremony on Farmers Day yesterday that the government's efforts to prevent avian flu needs their cooperation.
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