The Ministry of Agriculture’s Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Taiwan Cooperative Bank (TCB) to collaborate on the first botulism early warning system for black-faced spoonbills in Taiwan.
The institute introduced botulinum antitoxin therapy after 73 black-faced spoonbills died of botulism in Tainan’s Cigu District (七股) about 23 years ago.
Black-faced spoonbills are endangered and about 60 percent of the bird species’ global population spend the winter in Taiwan, making it one of the most proportionally impactful conservation efforts in Taiwan, the institute said.
Photo courtesy of Tainan City Ecological Conservation Association
However, incidents of botulism in black-faced spoonbills remained frequent in recent years and has undermined both the wetland ecosystems and the national image, it said.
The MOU, signed on Tuesday, would enhance the effort by establishing a black-faced spoonbill rescue chain that combines rescue, medical care and early warning, with satellite data collected and analyzed to anticipate sites with high botulism risks, the institute said.
The institute has long monitored black-faced spoonbill populations, and rescued sick and injured birds, while TCB has been promoting wetland conservation by funding the Taiwan Black-faced Spoonbill Conservation Association’s project to livestream black-faced spoonbills’ habitat in Dingshan Village (頂山), it said.
The collaboration between the institute and TCB is aimed to set up the first botulism early warning system for black-faced spoonbills in Taiwan, marking a shift from passive rescues to active prevention in wild bird conservation, it added.
Botulism in black-faced spoonbills mostly occurs in coastal wetlands in southwestern Taiwan during dry winters, veterinarian Chan Fang-tse (詹芳澤) said.
Black-faced spoonbills could get poisoned indirectly if they eat the toxic bacteria in fish, shrimp or shellfish, which would disrupt their motor nerve conduction and impair their ability to fly, he said.
Data from an annual survey led by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society showed a total of 7,081 sightings of black-faced spoonbills were documented globally from Jan. 18 last year to Jan. 19.
Of all the sightings, 4,169 were documented in Taiwan, up 34 from last year, accounting for 58.9 percent globally.
That means Taiwan remained as the most winter stopover site for black-faced spoonbills, while 1,671 black-faced spoonbills were recorded in China, 716 in Japan and 328 in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
In other news, the ministry’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday said migratory birds arriving in Taiwan have peaked, warning poultry farmers to strengthen bird flu prevention.
Highly contagious avian influenza in poultry and wild birds has increased across Europe, the US, Japan and South Korea this year — Taiwan is situated downstream along wintering birds’ migration routes and must be aware of such viruses from abroad, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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