Shooting of seagulls to combat avian influenza will be allowed in the Moscow region

The Moscow region joined the Chaika month, which takes place in RUSSIA on the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture. The purpose of the event is to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), since the situation with this disease in the country has become more complicated, including due to the growth of the seagull population, the report says.

According to the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Management of the Moscow Region, Tikhon Firsov, in the first half of the year, 64 outbreaks of AIV were recorded in Russia, while in 46 cases the causative agent of the virus was detected in seagulls. The HEAD of the regional ministry noted that in the Moscow region the situation with AIV is better than in many regions of Russia, thanks to timely prevention. Thus, hunting farms in the region were given recommendations on sampling biomaterial from dead birds, and 5-kilometer buffer zones were created around poultry farms, explained Tikhon Firsov.

 The increase in the number of gulls in the Moscow region is exacerbating another problem - birds accumulate en masse near landfills and take away garbage. In some cases, accumulations of birds threaten the safety of air travel, the regional Ministry of Ecology emphasized.

For these reasons, the department prepared a bill “On Amendments to the Law of the Moscow Region “On the Regulation of Certain Relations in the Field of Hunting and the Conservation of Hunting Resources in the Moscow Region.” The document proposes to include seagulls in the list of hunting resources.