Vesisaari, Norway
For along the way, more and more white dots start to stand out from the terrain. They are found by the roadside, on beaches and on cliffs.
They are dead birds.
The road follows the coast of the Varangi peninsula and leads to the town of Vadsø, or Vesisaari. There, dead birds can be seen on the roofs of factory buildings, parking lots and beach pebbles.
The bird had died on the roof in the town of Vadsø, or Vesisaari.
The town of Vesisaari on the northern shore of Varanginvuono has about 5,000 inhabitants.
Last in weeks it is reported of mass bird deaths associated with the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus. The most difficult disease situation in Norway is in the municipality of Vesisaari in the Finnmark county of northern Norway.
After the spread of the disease accelerated in the northern parts of Norway, more than 10,000 dead birds have been collected from the Vesisaari region since the beginning of June.
Collecting dead birds is the responsibility of municipalities. After collection, they are either burned or buried. Norwegian newspaper VG news Mayor of Vesisaari Wenche Pederson asked the Norwegian government for additional resources to fight the disease and dispose of the dead birds.
Dead birds in the parking lot in Vesisaari.
Anonymously according to a local fisherman who stays, the birds come from the sea to the river banks to get sick and die. The fisherman bringing his boat ashore says that a few kilometers away there are two river mouths where bird flu occurs every year, but this year the amount has turned out to be “hell big”, as he puts it.
When HS visited the river mouths about 15 kilometers east of Vesisaari on Saturday afternoon, no active cleaning work was visible. In both places, there are large plastic containers full of dead bird carcasses, as well as plenty of dead birds on the ground and in the water.
A large plastic container was filled with dead birds.
Dead seagulls on the old pier in Vesisaari.
Norwegian the leading veterinarian of the Food Safety Agency Ole-Herman Tronerud tells HS by email that bird flu has been detected in wild birds in Norway since 2020. Since the spring of this year, disease cases have been reported in increasing numbers, especially in the coastal areas of Finnmark county.
“So it is not surprising that, in addition to individual findings, the disease continues to spread rapidly in areas where large bird colonies live. The spread of the disease among wild birds cannot be stopped. The situation is very serious in the case of endangered species such as the little sablefish,” says Tronerud.
Endangered to protect the species, the Norwegian authorities have imposed a travel ban on Hornøya-Reinøya, Andotte and Eidvåge to nature reserves.
“We are following the development of the situation closely and are constantly weighing measures. In addition, we have, among other things, contacted the county governments of the coastal regions of Norway and encouraged them to have a dialogue with their municipalities to ensure that they are prepared in the event of a disease situation,” says Trunerud.
Inspector Risto Määtä The Lapland Police Service says that bird flu has not caused any measures in the border area between Finland and Norway so far.
According to Mattilsynet, the Norwegian Food Safety Agency, the risk of avian flu infection to humans is very low even in areas where disease cases have been found in wild birds. However, people are advised to avoid unnecessary travel to areas with large numbers of wild birds. Dead or sick birds should not be touched in order not only to avoid spreading the disease but also to avoid causing stress to sick animals.
The seagull took off from a street lamp in Vesisaari.
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