South China Morning Post
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Avian flu scare sparks call to halt practice of releasing birds
Experts urge ban as fears mount that blessing seekers could fuel epidemic
MARY ANN BENITEZ, NG KANG-CHUNG and CELINE SUN
The government will renew its appeal to religious and community groups to stop people seeking blessings by releasing birds into the wild following the discovery of a dead bird with avian flu in a busy shopping district.
But an academic says only an outright ban on the practice can safeguard public health and the health of bird sellers and buyers. At least half a million birds are believed to be imported every year for release.
There is speculation that six scaly-breasted munias found dead on Sunday in Causeway Bay may have been released by people seeking blessings. One of the six tested positive for H5 bird flu. Further tests are still being carried out to determine if the flu strain is the deadly H5N1.
It is not illegal to release birds, but a spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it "strongly advises" people against doing so.
"Captive birds stand little chance of surviving in the wild," he said.
"We had already contacted the community organisations concerned, including religious groups, to make such an appeal last year and were given to understand that these groups no longer released birds. We will remind them to co-operate with us again."
But Richard Corlett, professor of ecology and biodiversity at the University of Hong Kong, said a complete ban on releasing birds was preferable.
"It is a danger to public health because the sellers and buyers come into contact with birds and bird droppings with none of the precautions that are taken with poultry, and the birds are then released into the environment," he said.
A study by a post-doctoral student last year estimated that between 500,000 and a million birds are imported for release every year, Professor Corlett said.
"[These birds] are mostly caught in China. They are not vaccinated, quarantined or inspected, and they were transported into Hong Kong in appallingly dirty and crowded conditions. Many of them are sick and injured," he said.
Virologist Paul Chan Kay-sheung, of Chinese University, said it would be unrealistic to ban the practice.
The discovery of H5 in a dead wild bird was "a warning signal", he said, "but the level of alertness is not as high as if we found some poultry outbreaks".
A permit must be obtained to import live birds into Hong Kong, said a spokesman for the government department. Some 77,000 birds were imported last year, about 96 per cent of them from the mainland, the spokesman said.
But infectious diseases specialist Lo Wing-lok said the department would not be able to ensure all birds sold in Hong Kong were licensed.
Dr Lo said it would be better if the government would "publicly denounce the practice of bird release" to put a stop to it.
Bird traders in the popular Bird Garden in Mong Kok interviewed yesterday said munias were not popular with pet-bird keepers. They denied such birds were usually bought for live release.
One bird seller, Ms Ho Ying, said: "We know birds. And we know how to handle them with care. They are our property and we would not do anything to make them sick."
Another, Chan Lok-choi, who sells birds and bird feed, accused the government and the media of sowing panic.
"You will die, I will die, and birds will die. It is only natural. There is no point making a fuss over the death of one bird," said Mr Chan.
