Bird flu is on the rise among wild birds and volunteers from animal ambulances are increasingly being called upon to clean up sick and dead animals. Many of the extra costs they incur are not reimbursed. Minister Adema of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) does not think it is a task for the national government to accommodate animal ambulances in this. This is evident from the TV broadcast of the journalistic research platform Pointer (KRO-NCRV).
Animal ambulances that feel overburdened should try to recover the costs from municipalities, the minister believes. Adema: “If the municipality wants the volunteers to be used to clean up, the municipality must also ensure that this is facilitated.”
Site managers such as municipalities, nature conservation organisations, farmers and private individuals are responsible for sick and dead animals on their property, but legally speaking they have no duty to clean up. That is why people often call the animal ambulance first.
‘Greenhouse is empty’
The high expenditure of animal ambulances is mainly due to personal protective equipment against bird flu and the extra kilometers they have to drive to the vet for euthanasia of sick animals. Some municipalities reimburse part of these costs, other municipalities do nothing at all, or pay a small compensation per cadaver.
Volunteer Gerrit de Boom of ambulance organization Vianen and surroundings: “We help the government to tackle a problem that can become very big with public health and then they say: ‘you can pay for it yourself’. That hurts a lot. Then you are working with a very enthusiastic team of people to tackle that major problem and then you see the greenhouse emptying.”
The expenditure of the national government on combating bird flu among wild birds is in stark contrast to the expenditure on avian flu control on poultry farms. Mardik Leopold, marine biologist at Wageningen University & Research: “Last year, 50 million euros was spent to clear poultry houses from poultry farmers. And in percentage terms, wild birds die much more than chickens. But in 2022, about 7 tons was spent on fighting bird flu in wild birds. ”
South America
The avian flu virus historically spread through poultry farms in Asia and then spread to wild birds that spread the highly contagious virus around the world. Mammals that eat infected birds, such as foxes, martens and seals, are also increasingly getting bird flu. “Worldwide, more than 800 people have now also become infected, half of whom have died. It is therefore important to clear up infected birds quickly,” Pointer reports
Thijs Kuiken, avian flu expert at Erasmus MC: “This is an avian flu pandemic all over the world. At the moment it goes through North America to South America. And I’m afraid it will continue to Antarctica where there are 100 million breeding birds that are also susceptible to avian flu.” Kuiken: “We are especially concerned about those outbreaks in groups of mammals. It can spread to humans and cause another flu pandemic.”
Experts emphasized several times last year and this year that bird flu in the Netherlands does not pose a threat to human health. “The chance that people in the Netherlands will become infected with bird flu through contact with infected mammals is still very small,” poultry veterinarian Sjaak de Wit of the Animal Health Service (GD) said to Pluimveeweb.nl in January.
Intensiveringsplan
The Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality is working on an intensification plan for tackling bird flu among wild birds. For example, a national working group has been set up to properly arrange the clean-up.
The TV program Pointer can be seen on Sunday April 9 at 10.10 pm at KRO-NCRV on NPO 2.
