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id 5137; Tue, 03 Feb 2004 14:00:07 +0800 (HKT)
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Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2004 14:03:27 +0800
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From: Koren Mitchell <>
Subject: Migratory birds and bird flu - the Hong Kong
perspective
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I thought you all might be interested in some of the ridiculous things
that
the government is doing here in Hong Kong with respect to bird flu.
They haven't closed the "wet markets" (where they sell live chickens).
They haven't closed the Bird Market, where they sell all types of caged
birds, including many caught from the wild in China.
They have banned import of chickens, ducks, etc and cage birds from
China
and other countries with bird flu (about the only sensible thing they
have
done).
They have also closed all access to Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong's
RAMSAR-listed wetland site. (Bad timing - they closed it 1 day before
the
HK Bird Watching Society's Bird Race last weekend!)
They are also recommending that people not go birdwatching!
Unfortunately, since I don't speak Cantonese, I don't have access to the
local press, but there must be an enormous amount of rubbish being
published if anyone thinks that you can get bird flu by walking through
a
park looking at birds through binoculars!
I also thought people might be interested in the message below, which
comes
from someone at BirdLife International.
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