Two more dead flamingos were found at Larnaca salt lake on Sunday and the town’s muncipality is in consultation with the state authorities on the issue, Larnaca Municipality said in an announcement on Monday.
“The municipality is in constant contact with the Environment Service and the Game Department regarding the dead flamingoes at Larnaca salt lake. Another two were found yesterday, January 26 while according to an update from the relevant services no new cases were found today,” it said.
The municipality said that it will evaluate the situation and take the appropriate steps with the competent state authorities after the results of the post-mortem examination on the flamingos found over the weekend,” it added.
BirdLife Cyprus yesterday expressed concern over the death of more than 20 flamingos at Larnaca’ salt lake, attributed at first sight to lead poisoning, and said it was in contact with authorities to identify the exact cause of death and take appropriate measures to avoid such incidents in the future.
The Game Service has said that the birds died from a combination of lead and increased stress because of the cold.
Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras said the lead poisoning was from pellets left from a shooting range which has been moved and which authorities had said had been cleared. He added that the municipality will look into clearing the salt lake further.
In a post on Facebook BirdLife Cyprus said that the first signs suggest lead poisoning, as pellets were found in the stomachs of the dead birds.
More tests are required to show the levels of toxicity and whether these were fatal to the birds, it added.
And the Greens said they were not satisfied with the explanation given by the Game Service. The shooting range was relocated 15 years ago, the lake was cleared and only weeks ago two ministers had assured the Greens after a question submitetd through parliament that there was no risk of lead poisoning for the birds.
The party said they were waiting for the results of the tests carried out on the mud and of the tests on the dead flamingos.
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https://in-cyprus.com/birdlife-cyprus-says-flamingos-deaths-worrying-seeks-action-from-authorities/
