After receiving medical treatment for weeks, 15 endangered black-faced spoonbills returned to nature in Chiku Lagoon, Tainan County, yesterday morning.
Beginning on Dec. 9, 90 black-faced spoonbills in Chiku Lagoon were infected by botulinum toxin. Among them, 73 died.
Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (
PHOTO: CHEN YI-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES
Before being set free, the spoonbills -- which were placed in paper boxes -- were transferred by local officials and bird conservationists to the shore of the Chiku wetlands.The birds' legs were tagged with plastic identification rings.
Two spoonbills treated by veterinarians at Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute flew away immediately after officials lifted the doors of the containers.
Another 13 spoonbills that were treated by officials at the Tainan County Livestock Disease Control Center were surrounded by officials, the media and conservationists as they were let go. After roaming through the wetlands for 15 minutes, they flew way together.
Local agricultural officials said that the 15 spoonbills that are wearing the identification rings could easily be identified by bird watchers.
Bird conservationists criticized the government's disregard for international protocol concerning identification rings.
The domestically produced plastic rings placed on the right legs of the spoonbills are different from those used in neighboring countries, the conservationists said.
According to Chiang Kuen-dar (江昆達), secretary-general of the Wild Bird Federation Taiwan (WBFT), conservationists in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have agreed for years to follow the rules of bird banding established by the Japan-based Yamashina Institute for Ornithology.
Chiang said the government has refused to follow the rules, which designate the use of metal and plastic rings with assigned colors on the legs of bird.
"The government is ignoring conservationists' concerns on the issue, and this disregard will confuse bird watchers in other countries, further frustrating bird conservation," Chiang said.
WBFT president Charles Cheng (程建中) said the government's action will soon be reported to both the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology and BirdLife International.
"Only if we report the case to international organizations, will it foreign bird watchers, be able to positively identify the spoonbills" Cheng said.
Last month, a synchronized survey on the endangered bird, which breeds on islets near the Korean peninsula, was carried out by conservationists.
For the first time since the mid-1990s, according to the WBFT, the global population of the endangered bird exceeds 1,000. The population has been increased from 969 last year to 1,036 this year. In Taiwan, 585 spoonbills were observed.
Officials said it is uncertain whether they will set free two spoonbills still receiving treatment at the Tainan County Livestock Disease Control Center.
"After they leave for the north in April, the local government will focus on habitat management in order to create more food supplies for the rare bird," Su said.
To achieve the goal, Su said, nearby fish farm operators would be ordered to comply with rules set up by the local government.
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