Concerns have emerged about an environmental disaster on Lake Shalkar in Bayanauylskiy district, Pavlodar region, Kazakhstan, as over a thousand bird carcasses have been collected and burned in the past two days, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
In the past two days, rural residents, local forest protection workers and veterinarians got together and collected around a thousand bird carcasses around the lake. At every 10-15 meters, at least 10 carcasses could be found. Around 600 carcasses were found at 300 meters. Among the birds died are not only Ruddy shelducks, but also swans, as well as other species… There are at least 600-700 carcasses amongst the reeds… It’s clear that the birds die of an unknown epidemic, say the residents of Zheltau village, located in just one and a half kilometers away from Lake Shalkar.
They add that the residents of agriculture-dependent villages Zheltau and Koitas sound concern over the possible infection of domestic animals. The residents also voiced complaints about the pollution and foul odor near the lake, noting that the veterinary specialists did not take the water and soil samples for examinations, only the samples of died birds.
As the residents said, the veterinarians came unprepared, as there was no special machinery to transport the deceased birds. The Bayanauyl national park came their help by sending foresters.
Insufficient efforts make a full clean-up of the surroundings of the lake impossible. ‘There are no rubber boats; special furnaces for burning corpses are not operational,’ the residents voice concern, as the carcasses are burned in open areas.
The regional veterinary authority informed that they were not aware of deaths of other birds, except for Ruddy shelducks.
According acting head of the veterinary authority of Pavlodar region Assyltas Tleubayev, the reason for them to be reluctant take the samples of water and soul is that it should be determined whether its an epidemic or poisoning, that led to the deaths among birds. He went on to add that in case of poisoning samples of water and soul are to be taken, and if it is an epidemic an epizootic situation will be declared.
Tleubayev suggested that poisoning is likely to be behind the deaths of the birds. He said that the birds could be poisoned by pesticides, as the chemical locust-control measures were carried out in the planted areas near Karaganda region.
To note, there are over 10 lakes in the territory of Kurkelinskiy rural district, which are home to a large number of wild birds.
Earlier it was reported that 150 wild ducks died on the lake in Pavlodar region.
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