A colleague apparently read the essay about avian influenza that I wrote this past weekend and was inspired to send me a portion of an email written by Ted Cable, Assistant Chairman for the Department of Horticulture, Forestry and Recreational Resources at Kansas State University. Cable is currently on a sabbatical leave in France. In his message, Cable is very concerned about the "bird flu" misinformation presented to the public and the effect that this is, and will, have on wild birds. He writes;
On another note, here in France there is tremendous panic about the bird flu and it is causing great concern among conservationists. I had dinner tonight with an official from the LPO (National Audubon equivalent) and he told me that France's Minister of Education just announced a national ban on all school field trips to natural areas. The prohibition of outdoor environmental education activities is also going to result in the loss of significant income to several conservation organizations that make money from doing nature programs for school groups. And, although there has been no official endorsement of this, informally it seems that hunters are being encouraged to shoot any wild bird that is not acting "normally."
And what, according to the average Jacques Q. Public, is "normal behavior" for a bird?
From what I have been told (and observed on previous trips) hunting is pretty much out of control here anyway. This will just make it worse. The biggest fear among French birders is that come nesting season people will destroy bird nests, particularly conspicuous nests such as those in swallow colonies. Another apparently irrational manifestation of this panic is that chicken consumption is down more than 30%. The media is in a bird flu frenzy here and the frenzy is spreading faster than the flu. [italics mine]
What do you think, dear readers? If you are French or if you are living in France right now, what have you seen regarding these issues?
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Oh, come on... I live in France, and there is no "frenzy". The media are constantly telling people that it's safe to eat chicken, and, aside from quarantining areas where infected birds are found, haven't been feeding any frenzy.
As for school trips being cancelled, that's probably a good thing - all you need is one kid to find a dead bird and touch it for real panic to set in.