WILDLIFE experts who participated in an avian influenza workshop in Yangon last week warned that blaming wild birds for spreading bird flu without understanding the benefits of maintaining healthy bird populations could result in needless culling and ecological devastation.

“Mass culling of wild birds is not a wise option because it will result in loss of biodiversity and have a huge ecological impact,” said one of the participants in the workshop.

The workshop on Human Pandemic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Surveillance in Wild Birds was held at the headquarters of the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries in Insein township, Yangon, on June 19 and 20.

It was organised by the department in cooperation with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Among the 24 trainees who attended was U Thein Myint, the vice chairman of the Myanmar Bird and Nature Society.

He said speakers at the workshop explained that wild birds were often scapegoated as a vector for the disease because there was no one to defend them, resulting in the development of wrong perceptions.

Culling wild birds was often akin to “cutting the foot to suit the shoes” because it caused a meaningless loss of wildlife without bestowing any benefits, he said, adding that wild birds had “different backgrounds, functions, investigation and control measures, and migratory species are not owned by single country and are protected under international conventions.”

Other trainees at the workshop were from the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department; Forest Department; Livestock, Feedstuff and Diary Products Enterprise; Yangon City Development Committee; and some non-government organisations.

The trainers included local and overseas experts from the FAO, European Union and Myanmar government departments.

Topics included monitoring and surveillance of wild birds in Southeast Asia, wild bird capture techniques for avian influenza surveillance, wetland management and surveillance, the current bird flu situation in Myanmar and future plans for wild bird monitoring and surveillance.

Another participant from the Myanmar Bird and Nature Society, chairperson U Soe Nyunt, said: “Nature needs to be sustained in a balanced way. We need to be aware of the role that wild birds play in nature, not only from a negative perspective but also from the conservation point of view.”

At the workshop, society members gave a presentation on the status of wetlands migratory birds and avian influenza surveillance in wild birds in Myanmar, based on data collected during surveys conducted at wetlands countrywide from 2002 to 2006.

According to the report, no cases of bird flu were found in wild birds despite careful observation and extensive interviews with local villagers.

The report recommended that surveillance of wild birds should be increased and called for the development of a plan of action in the event of an outbreak of avian influenza among wild birds in wetland areas.

U Soe Nyunt said the workshop also highlighted the need to identify areas of the country and bird species that were at high risk from the disease.

He said he expected a series of practical training workshops to be held in the future, with the next one likely to be held later this year.

“We can’t go easy on this issue. This can become a pandemic and every country should put its finest effort into it,” he said.