Not hundreds, but only ten dead birds found in De Onlanden yesterday. According to forest ranger Bart Zwiers, this is a big windfall, after the counter stopped between two and three hundred earlier this week. “It seems that the peak has passed.”
Yet the polonaise remains out. “The aftertaste is that this is a great shame for nature,” says Zwiers. “Moreover, we have to conclude that there was a lack of direction. We didn’t know where to go with the carcasses. Subsequently, from a public health point of view, I expect that information will be given to people about bird flu. That you should not grab the birds without protection and that you have to keep your dog on a leash.”
Natuurmonumenten eventually communicated this itself. “But I think that’s a task for the governments,” says Zwiers. “After all, we are too busy cleaning up the dead birds.”
Yesterday morning the nature reserve was searched by means of a drone. “We do this to limit disruption to the area as much as possible,” explains Zwiers. “So we found about ten birds in total. We leave them alone. That has to do with the consideration we make in terms of the risk of disruption and infection.”
In the coming period, Natuurmonumenten will continue to monitor the area with a drone. Zwiers knows that there is a good chance that De Onlanden will have to deal with bird flu more often. “The flu continues to spread. From geese, to swans, to black-headed gulls. Who can tell me that soon the rooks in villages and towns will not fall from the trees? Then you have an even bigger problem. You want the chances of infection for people to be as low as possible That is precisely why I think that the cooperation between nature organizations and governments in this area should be improved.”
The suits and mouth masks remain ready at Natuurmonumenten. “We are prepared for these kinds of situations and we must remain so.”
Nevertheless, the culling of dead birds does not bother the forest ranger. “Surely you are concerned with the fact that you can get infected. I can now act tough and sober about it, but you are still alert.”