AVIAN influenza or bird flu should not affect bird watching as participants will only be watching from a distance and would not have direct physical interaction with the birds, an official of the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.
“We do not touch, we do not handle, and we do not interact physically with any bird species because it goes against the ethics of bird watching; exactly why it is called bird watching. We observe from a distance without disturbing the natural habitats of the birds that we are observing and we use binoculars and spotting scopes to keep the distance. The fear that bird watching in the region will have an impact on the spread of Avian flu, I think, is next to impossible,” said DOT-Davao regional director Roberto Alabado III in a phone interview with VoxPop Davao.
He also said illegal hunting and trapping of birds should be given more attention after the outbreak more than the bird watching tourism activities since illegal hunting and trapping require physical interaction more than merely watching from a distance.
Alabado said bird watchers can actually even help DA monitor birds they observe to be weak and have weird flying behaviors that may be a symptom of bird flu virus.
“We can even be the ones to report to them if we see any signs of migratory birds that are ill or sickly looking. Bird watchers can maybe even help with the field monitoring,” he said.
Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) Conservation Education Administrator Rai Gomez also said migratory birds that are sick may not be able to reach the Philippines as they may be too weak to fly long distances. She said it is most likely that the birds able to complete migration are the healthy ones. Although given this, Gomez said they are still doing precautionary measures against bird flu to protect the eagles in the center.
Alabado added one of the species that come to Davao Region is the Chinese eaglet which is a rare species. He encourages everyone to only look and watch only and should strictly refrain from hunting.
The two are reacting to a statement by Department of Agriculture-Davao Avian Influenza spokesperson Dr. Dannie Apelo that they might forbid bird watching activities in the region during the bird migration period next month due to the risk brought by the bird flu outbreak in Pampanga this week.
"Davao Region is one of the places in the country where thousands of migrating birds pass through during September and these birds come from different places in the world. This means that if there is a bird flu outbreak in Pampanga, who knows what virus these migrating birds may carry," Apelo said.
Birdwatchers, contrary to Apelo's belief, bring high-powered lenses to watch the birds and take photos of them.
