Death of 11,000 Migratory Birds in Miankale Wetland “Due to Botulism Toxin”

After examining various possibilities, Iran’s Veterinary Organization announced that the cause of death of thousands of migratory birds in Miankale Wetland was poisoning. Mazandran’s environmental officials had declared the cause of the birds’ death unknown approximately a month ago.

The death of migratory birds in the international Miankale Wetland is not a new issue, and there has been much speculation about its cause; ranging from intentional poisoning of the wetland water by illegal hunters to the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday, the 19th of Esfand, citing the Veterinary Organization of the country, that the cause of the death of thousands of migratory birds in Miankale Wetland was poisoning by botulism toxin.

The organization states that from the beginning of this year until the first of Esfand, more than 11,000 migratory birds died in Miankale Wetland, and after examining “all hypotheses” in reference laboratories and applied research studies, it has been determined that these birds were poisoned by botulism toxin.

One of the ways botulism toxin is created in wetlands and stagnant waters is mentioned as bacterial interactions in plant species such as algae under conditions of severe oxygen depletion.

The Veterinary Organization of the country states that field research shows that 94 percent of the dead birds were from the cormorant species, 3.5 percent flamingos, and the rest from 20 different species.

“100 Percent” Emphasis on Botulism and Denial of Other Causes

In this institution’s report, it states that examination of “environmental factors, estimated time of occurrence onset, species involved, age and sex of birds involved, number of sick and dead birds, at-risk population, characteristics of the occurrence location, as well as analysis of field data collected from the occurrence site” shows that the main cause of high mortality of birds in Miankale Wetland is “100 percent” the “heat-sensitive biotoxin (botulism)”.

Ali Safar Makani, head of the Veterinary Organization of the country, emphasizes that the organization’s latest tests show that the death of migratory birds in Miankale was not due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, Newcastle disease, and the presence of heavy metals, and these cases are ruled out.

According to IRNA’s report, in the year 2019, more than 50,000 migratory birds died in the international Miankale Wetland due to what was called botulism toxin poisoning. On this basis, the loss of migratory birds in the first 11 months of this year was significantly less than the previous year.

Doubt About Veterinary Organization’s Theory

Despite the Veterinary Organization’s emphasis on definitively identifying the cause of migratory birds’ death, some experts and environmental activists accuse officials of covering up the real cause and consider botulism toxin poisoning implausible.

Esmail Kahrom, an environmental activist, in a conversation with the “Rokna” website in Ordibehesht of this year, referring to the history of toxin dumping in the wetland by illegal hunters, said that officials are “covering up the matter” under the pretext of botulism toxin to avoid involving police, intelligence, and court.

Homayoun Khosravan, director of an international project studying the impact of Caspian Sea fluctuations on the environment of coastal areas, told the “Aftab” website at the same time that given the fundamental difference in the habitat of flamingos and cormorants, accepting poisoning by botulism toxin for both species is not credible.

Khosravan said: “In the flamingo habitat, there is no algae at all that could die, turn into keratin, or decompose its shell and create botulism toxin.”

This expert does not consider toxin dumping in water as a reason for the death of migratory birds either, and says that if this hypothesis were true, we should also witness severe deaths of aquatic life, which has not occurred on a large scale this year.

One of the problems that most environmental activists agree on is the role of encroachment by institutions and influential individuals on protected areas, land use change, and incorrect policies and neglect of the requirements for protecting such areas.

One manifestation of the ineffectiveness of government policies in protecting the environment is the drying up of Gorgan Bay in Golestan Province. This bay and Miankale Wetland were registered as international protected areas in 1354.

Source: DW