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November 22, 2002
New rehabilitation centre for Prestige Disaster
PONTEVEDRA, Spain,
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW www.ifaw.org) and Xunta, the regional wildlife authority for north west Spain, have today opened a new rehabilitation centre to help save the wildlife that is suffering following the oil slick from the sunken tanker Prestige.
The temporary centre has already taken in its first 50 sea birds and by tomorrow another 100 are expected to arrive. The birds are being transferred from two other rehabilitation facilities that have acted as collection points.
"This new centre is vital if we are to save the birds that have already been rescued and those that are now coming ashore," said Jay Holcomb, leader of IFAW's Emergency Relief Team that is working at the oil spill. "Our other great concern is that there is a vast slick just off the coast at present and if that comes ashore we are going to have a large number of oiled birds needing to be rescued and rehabilitated."
"It is critical that the birds are given the right treatment if they are to survive. Many are extremely weak and this new facility will provide their best chance of making it. They are suffering from hypothermia, and dehydration when they arrive. Our experienced rehabilitators, which include veterinarians, can now provide the care they need."
The rehab centre has been established in a building provided by the forestry department in Pontevedra, close to the 100 km of coastline that has been affected by the spill. It includes a dedicated kitchen with freezers to prepare food for the birds, a stabilization room with holding pens where they are tubed with fluids, facilities for blood tests, a wash and rinse area, and recovery pools.
IFAW's Holcomb added: "The birds are firstly stabilized by getting their temperatures back up to acceptable levels and by being tubed fluids. They are then fed fluids and food until blood tests, which check for infection and anemia, show they are strong enough to be washed. Next they need to recover their waterproofing and recondition in tanks prior to their being released back into the wild. This process depends on the state of each bird, but can take anything from several days to a few weeks.
"Finding somewhere to release the birds will be difficult with so much of this coast affected by the spill. We will take the advice of the local wildlife experts to determine where best to do this."
Since the Prestige sank more than 160 birds have been rescued, including gannets, razorbills, cormorants, guillemot, kittiwake, and gulls. The seas around the coastal islands close to Pontevedra is a national maritime park and one of the country's most important areas for migratory birds and other marine wildlife.
Karen Benzel
PR/Media Relations
International Bird Rescue Research Center
831-622-7588 phone
www.ibrrc.org
Posted by Surfbirds at November 22, 2002 11:18 PM
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