Oriental White Storks Have Died of Suspected Poisoning: CBCGDF Volunteers in Tianjin in Action
2020/11/27 15:24:00 本站

On November 22, the police in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin first discovered the suspected poisoning of Oriental white storks in Shanpingqiao area. In the next two days, the volunteers of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) in Tianjin also discovered suspected Oriental white storks poisoning in a fishpond in Binhai New Area and a fishpond in Qinghe Farm in Beijing.

 

"When they were discovered, most of these Oriental white storks were dying," Wang Jianmin, the director of CBCGDF Community Conservation Area for relict gulls at Tianjin said. Based on his years of experience in monitoring and rescuing these endangered species, he knows their habits and the timeliness of rescue well. Wang and other volunteers carried out simple inspection and treatment of these Oriental white storks at the first time, and at the same time tried their best to bring these large birds suspected of poisoning to the rescue station for more detailed observation and treatment.

 

A volunteer who participated in the on-site rescue said: "We started patrols from 4 in the morning until 10:30 in the evening. We have been rescuing these suspected Oriental white storks." Only on November 23rd, the CBCGDF volunteers found 16 Oriental white storks that were suspected of being poisoned. Sadly, 15 of them were dead when they were found, and one was rescued in time. The next day, volunteers found Oriental white storks that were suspected of being poisoned again in a fishpond in Tianjin Binhai New Area and near the fishpond of Qinghe Farm in Beijing.

 

"The symptoms they present are basically the same, and the locations of the suspected poisoning are relatively concentrated." The volunteers were very distressed, and they all reported to the police in the first place.

 

According to the preliminary statistics of the volunteers, as of now, a total of 23 Oriental white storks have been found injured or dead in three consecutive days. Among them, two were preliminarily identified as having hit high-voltage power lines and died. Among the remaining 21, the volunteers rescued three, and the remaining 19 have died.

 

The Tianjin police attaches great importance to the suspected poisoning death of multiple Oriental white storks and has now fully intervened to investigate the case. The sample of the dead Oriental white storks has been sent for testing, and everyone is waiting for the results of the test.

 

Currently, CBCGDF volunteers are guarding the field day and night, observing Oriental white storks. According to their observations, there were more than 3,000 Oriental white storks that arrived in Tianjin during the migration season last year. By the end of November this year, there have been more than 5,000. The number of Oriental white storks in Tianjin for wintering is 1.67 times that of previous years. At the same time, after a large number of birds flew to the Tianjin Binhai Wetland, they flew to the fishponds near the wetland for food due to difficulty in foraging and were driven away by the fishpond owners.

 

Some CBCGDF volunteers believe that the gathering of these Oriental white storks in large groups and foraging in fishponds significantly increases their risk of poaching and poisoning. Although the cause of their death has not yet been determined, it is related to all aspects of protecting the Oriental white storks. Volunteers hope that relevant departments will introduce a solution to compensation for wild animals as soon as possible to ensure the safe migration of Oriental white storks this year.


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(Photo credit: CBCGDF volunteers)


By / Maggie


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