Following the outbreak of bird flu
The Minister of Environmental Protection, Tamar Zandberg, intends to ban hunting until the end of the hunting season
By: Coral Dean
In the last two months, bird flu has been detected on farms in various parts of the country. Recently, the plague spread to wild birds, when abnormal mortality was found in the sick reed in the crane population. Samples taken from the area confirmed the suspicion that they had died due to bird flu. It was later discovered that one-fifth of the crane population in Israel has so far been affected by bird flu. It is estimated that this is a particularly violent strain of the avian influenza virus that causes massive mortality (up to 50-60%) among infected birds, as observed in cranes in the sick reedbed.
The precedent of morbidity and mortality discovered in the eruption in the Hula Valley, cranes and in recent days also in other wild birds, in other areas in Israel, leads to the working assumption that many individuals from a large number of birds – including ducks and pigeons and other species allowed to hunt in Israel.
In recent days, additional eruption sites have been discovered near natural or artificial moist habitats (reservoirs, fish ponds) where large numbers of waterfowl are concentrated and with them species that feed on them or their remains (birds of prey and mammals).
The activity of the hunter in areas of moist, natural or artificial habitats, may cause the morbidity to intensify and transfer it to other centers, since shooting activity while hunting in the field escapes the birds on the spot and causes them to fly and disperse in space. Thus, hunting may help spread the virus to nearby water bodies and infect it. In addition, there is a fear of the virus being transmitted from site to site through residual droppings on vehicle tires or hunting shoes, through dogs collecting the ducks hunted from the water and more.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection continues to monitor the outbreak of avian influenza, and assist relevant authorities in treating the epidemic and curbing it with the tools at their disposal.
Minister of Environmental Protection, Tamar Zandberg: “The abolition of hunting this season is a necessary step in treating the outbreak of avian influenza that we are witnessing. “Others who were found to be infected with the disease indicate a serious and abnormal outbreak, and we must act immediately to minimize the contact between wild birds and humans, and prevent the spread of the disease to other areas. Hunting at this time is necessary to stop the outbreak and maintain human and animal health.”