aggression
A student worker from the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (Inbo) was counting birds near Borgloon when a farmer deliberately sprayed him with a liquid. “We assume it was pesticides.”
“The student worker was counting the birds in the area with binoculars in Borgloon on Tuesday, when a farmer drove up to him with a sprinkler system, opened the tap and sprayed him with an unknown liquid,” says Koen Van Muylem, spokesperson for the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (Inbo). “We assume it was pesticides.”
The student was medically examined and fortunately no problems were found. “He is still interested in doing research for us, but not in the same place anymore,” says Van Muylem. It is not yet clear whether the bird count in the Loon area, which took place as part of the Monitoring of Biodiversity in the Agricultural Area project, will be resumed by someone else.
Legal action
Inbo deeply regrets this incident and emphasizes that it will not tolerate this behavior. “With the project we want to make an inventory of biodiversity in the agricultural area. We also want to work together with farmers to achieve this. This is a constructive project that can demonstrate where changes need to be made that benefit both agriculture and nature,” the spokesperson explains.
“But we want to protect our people at all times and have therefore taken legal action. We noted the tractor’s license plate and filed a complaint with the police,” says van Muylem. “As an independent research institute, we want to be able to carry out our scientific work objectively and unhindered. Although we are aware of the unrest among farmers, we cannot simply ignore such incidents.”
