30 rare storks poisoned, illegal hunters suspected
By Li Qian |
November 13, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE suspected illegal poisoning of nearly 30 rare Oriental storks, a protected species in China, is being investigated near a water reservoir in north China's Tianjin Municipality.
The State Forestry Administration said 11 were found dead on Sunday morning, 12 were rescued and are in stable condition and one is undergoing emergency treatment.
The rest of the storks were among the group believed sickened but were missing as of yesterday, the Legal Daily reported.
Due to habitat loss and hunting, the migratory Oriental stork is classified as endangered on the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species. There are now only 2,500 to 3,000 of the large, white birds with black wing feathers that make their fall and spring homes in China.
Volunteers clearing nets used to catch wild birds spotted the group of 30 storks standing dazed and motionless. They took one with them and it was identified as endangered.
Five to six bags of a highly toxic pesticide were found in the birds' habitat near the reservoir in the city's Dagang District. Some of the poison was missing and is believed to have been ingested by the birds.
The results of an autopsy will be published on the website of the State Forestry Administration, officials said.
The volunteers suspect illegal hunters put down the poison to kill the birds, possibly to sell them to restaurants, the paper said.
The poison, one of the strongest carbamate pesticides, is used to control insects and is highly toxic to humans. A dose of 1 milliliter can be fatal.
Though killing wild birds was banned by China in 1989, poaching still takes a toll.
Hunters hide nets under reed marshes and play tapes with birds singing to lure the birds or scatter toxic pellets that look like food in tidal-flats where birds like to rest.
The State Forestry Administration said 11 were found dead on Sunday morning, 12 were rescued and are in stable condition and one is undergoing emergency treatment.
The rest of the storks were among the group believed sickened but were missing as of yesterday, the Legal Daily reported.
Due to habitat loss and hunting, the migratory Oriental stork is classified as endangered on the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species. There are now only 2,500 to 3,000 of the large, white birds with black wing feathers that make their fall and spring homes in China.
Volunteers clearing nets used to catch wild birds spotted the group of 30 storks standing dazed and motionless. They took one with them and it was identified as endangered.
Five to six bags of a highly toxic pesticide were found in the birds' habitat near the reservoir in the city's Dagang District. Some of the poison was missing and is believed to have been ingested by the birds.
The results of an autopsy will be published on the website of the State Forestry Administration, officials said.
The volunteers suspect illegal hunters put down the poison to kill the birds, possibly to sell them to restaurants, the paper said.
The poison, one of the strongest carbamate pesticides, is used to control insects and is highly toxic to humans. A dose of 1 milliliter can be fatal.
Though killing wild birds was banned by China in 1989, poaching still takes a toll.
Hunters hide nets under reed marshes and play tapes with birds singing to lure the birds or scatter toxic pellets that look like food in tidal-flats where birds like to rest.
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