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Bird flu halts plan to send Mongolian vulture home
2007/4/5
By Michael Casey BANGKOK, Thailand, AP
Plans by Thai Airways to send a rare vulture back to Mongolia via China or South Korea have been put on hold over bird flu fears, officials said Wednesday.
The national carrier announced with much fanfare last month that it would transport a juvenile cinereous vulture to Beijing on March 21 to help the rare bird -- found lost and emaciated in Thailand -- return to its natural environment in Mongolia.
But Thai Airways and other officials involved in the transfer said China rejected a request that the vulture travel through Beijing because of bird flu fears. A request that it transit through Seoul also was rejected over similar concerns, even though the bird has been tested twice and proven to be free of the virus, officials said.
"Beijing refused to permit us to transit. They mentioned the bird flu situation in Thailand," said Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, who is helping oversee the bird's recovery at a Kasetsart University, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Bangkok.
"Then, we switched to Seoul," he said. "They also refused to allow us to transit because of bird flu."
No one from China's Ministry of Agriculture could be reached for comment.
A South Korean Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing protocol, said the transit would be barred under a government notice which bans living birds from being transported to South Korea from a country where bird flu has broken out.
About 50 ducks and chickens died from the H5N1 bird flu virus last month in northeastern Thailand. It was the fourth outbreak this year in Thailand.
The year-old vulture -- normally not found in Thailand -- has been nursed back to health by veterinarians at Kasetsart University after apparently getting lost in late December and ending up dehydrated and near death in Chanthaburi province.
It now is about 1 meter (3.3 feet) tall with thick, brown feathers and an imposing black and white beak.
Chaiyan said they are still holding out hope that South Korea will reconsider the transit request, and have lobbied the country's ambassador to Thailand.
If that fails, they are planning to release the bird at the end of the month in northern Thailand on the Myanmar border hoping it will fly to its breeding ground in Mongolia, he said.
But Chaiyan and other bird experts acknowledge that releasing the bird in Thailand poses significant challenges, including threats from illegal poachers and a shortage of carcasses to feed upon.
"It could get lost again," said Gawin Chutima, chairman of the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand. "It's a young bird and has no experience."
2007/4/5
By Michael Casey BANGKOK, Thailand, AP
Plans by Thai Airways to send a rare vulture back to Mongolia via China or South Korea have been put on hold over bird flu fears, officials said Wednesday.
The national carrier announced with much fanfare last month that it would transport a juvenile cinereous vulture to Beijing on March 21 to help the rare bird -- found lost and emaciated in Thailand -- return to its natural environment in Mongolia.
But Thai Airways and other officials involved in the transfer said China rejected a request that the vulture travel through Beijing because of bird flu fears. A request that it transit through Seoul also was rejected over similar concerns, even though the bird has been tested twice and proven to be free of the virus, officials said.
"Beijing refused to permit us to transit. They mentioned the bird flu situation in Thailand," said Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, who is helping oversee the bird's recovery at a Kasetsart University, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Bangkok.
"Then, we switched to Seoul," he said. "They also refused to allow us to transit because of bird flu."
No one from China's Ministry of Agriculture could be reached for comment.
A South Korean Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing protocol, said the transit would be barred under a government notice which bans living birds from being transported to South Korea from a country where bird flu has broken out.
About 50 ducks and chickens died from the H5N1 bird flu virus last month in northeastern Thailand. It was the fourth outbreak this year in Thailand.
The year-old vulture -- normally not found in Thailand -- has been nursed back to health by veterinarians at Kasetsart University after apparently getting lost in late December and ending up dehydrated and near death in Chanthaburi province.
It now is about 1 meter (3.3 feet) tall with thick, brown feathers and an imposing black and white beak.
Chaiyan said they are still holding out hope that South Korea will reconsider the transit request, and have lobbied the country's ambassador to Thailand.
If that fails, they are planning to release the bird at the end of the month in northern Thailand on the Myanmar border hoping it will fly to its breeding ground in Mongolia, he said.
But Chaiyan and other bird experts acknowledge that releasing the bird in Thailand poses significant challenges, including threats from illegal poachers and a shortage of carcasses to feed upon.
"It could get lost again," said Gawin Chutima, chairman of the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand. "It's a young bird and has no experience."