[/floatl]Bird flu fears prompt bans on feeding swans
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 29, 2008
More moves are being made by local authorities to prohibit or discourage the feeding of swans and other migratory birds as a measure to prevent avian flu being transferred by people after contacting the birds....
...About 300 swans fly to the Nagakigawa river in Odate, Akita Prefecture, every year. However, this winter, the municipal government posted signs about every five meters along the riverbanks warning against feeding swans.
The municipal government said it had instituted the ban because bird excrement could be carried on people's shoes, resulting in it being transferred to chicken farms. ...
...Last year, the Sakata municipal government asked a local volunteer swan-conservation group to stop feeding the birds. The group resisted and, following negotiations with the municipal government, reached an agreement not to feed the birds by hand, and to wash their hands and shoes after feeding...more...
